PREDETERMINATION Synonyms: 29 Similar and Opposite Words

predetermination

noun

Definition of predetermination

as in theory

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of predetermination The presiding judge granted Sweeney's attorney's request to change the charge to second-degree murder or manslaughter as the court lacked sufficient evidence to try him for first-degree murder since predetermination was not established. — Rebecca Aizin, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025 He was also accused of failing to respect and comply with the law by denying due process to litigants and lawyers and demonstrating a bias or predetermination for certain cases. — Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 14 May 2025 From there we’re introduced to the Time Variance Authority where Loki is taken for messing with predetermination—a strict timeline set up by the powerful and mysterious Time Keepers—and introduced to Agent Mobius (Owen Wilson). — Erik Kain, Forbes, 8 June 2021 Both seasons of The Umbrella Academy raise questions about the nature of time travel (as presented in the series) and the tension between choice and predetermination. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 3 Aug. 2020 There is comfort in subsuming your sense of individuality to a larger sentiment of prescription and predetermination. — Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2019 Yet the movie has a mythic thrust that’s partly due to its almost playful manipulation of time, its silent flash-forwards lending the story a feeling of futility and predetermination. — Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2018

Recent Examples of Synonyms for predetermination

Noun

Los Angeles County prosecutors charged Jason Melara, Taylor and Johnson not only with his murder, but also the killing of Mario Melara under the theory that his death was provoked by the armed robbery of Aguilar.

— Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2026
In another discrepancy, Crump said that a witness reported Wells had planned to leave on the boat with his friends, contradicting the sheriff's theory.

— ABC News, ABC News, 11 July 2026

Definition of theory

Noun

Torres wrote that courts apply a presumption against preemption in areas where states historically exercised their police powers, and gambling regulation has historically been left to states.

— Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica, 8 July 2026
The presumption was the decor would involve tons of flowers, given the elaborate floral arrangements surrounding Swift when Kelce proposed to her in his Leawood backyard last summer.

— Lisa Gutierrez July 7, Kansas City Star, 7 July 2026

Definition of presumption

Noun

Other research pointed in the same direction, and by 2008, Falk and other exercise physiologists were arguing against the status-quo assumption that kids had some major natural deficits in thermoregulation.

— Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 11 July 2026
Success increasingly depends on a leader’s ability to navigate cultural differences, foster inclusion, and build trust among people whose assumptions, communication styles, and expectations may vary dramatically.

— Rodger Dean Duncan, Forbes.com, 11 July 2026

Definition of assumption

Noun

Feynman was a graduate student there at the time and threw himself into the debate with gusto, even devising an experiment in the cyclotron laboratory to test his hypothesis.

— Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 13 July 2026
Finally, the paper acknowledges that the study’s interviewer was not blind to the C9 status of its participants and went in with a specific hypothesis—circumstances that risk bias.

— The New Yorker, New Yorker, 13 July 2026

Definition of hypothesis

Noun

The celebrated Soviet math professor Andrey Kolmogorov posed the O(n^2) speed limit as a formal conjecture and mentioned it during a 1960 seminar at Moscow State University.

— Jack Murtagh, Scientific American, 13 July 2026
That has dampened conjecture that Thomas, the oldest justice at 78, might retire before then.

— Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 11 July 2026

Definition of conjecture

Noun

Now, two teens who were with him face charges of evidence tampering – fueling anger and speculation about what happened to Daniel Erving.

— Holly Yan, CNN Money, 15 July 2026
The move comes amid some speculation that competition with Chinese memory chipmakers could be poised to intensify.

— Christina Cheddar Berk,Davis Giangiulio, CNBC, 15 July 2026

Definition of speculation

Noun

What becomes alarmingly evident through the key assumptions check is how many of the current responses expect a quick resolution of the conflict — a supposition that is unsound, or at least unsupported.

— Judd Devermont, semafor.com, 27 Apr. 2026
The supposition is the equivalent of green tea giant Bigelow taking Coca-Cola to court for its pour dominance in McDonald’s restaurants.

— John Tamny, Forbes.com, 16 Apr. 2026

Definition of supposition

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“Predetermination.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/predetermination. Accessed 16 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of predetermination

noun

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