as in theory
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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
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
-
Karen Read filed her lawsuit against Canton and the MSP not only to reveal shockingly obscene and racist text messages between key cops investigating her — but also to relitigate the defense theory of conspiracy to frame her.—
Flint McColgan,
Boston Herald,
7 June 2026
-
The theories about what could have happened to Nancy Guthrie, Savannah Guthrie’s mom, are varied.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
7 June 2026
Noun
-
The thing is, this presumption appears to be faltering.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
-
Hathaway opened up about the presumptions people have made about her to Elle.—
Charles Trepany,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
Noun
-
The first is the buy-back clause Real Madrid insisted upon when Paz was sold to Como; the assumption is that it will eventually be activated.—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
New York Times,
3 June 2026
-
Pla2na/Getty Images Many Americans spend decades building a retirement plan around the simple assumption that their monthly Social Security benefits will provide a reliable source of income no matter what happens with their finances or the economy.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
The statement was greeted by the event moderator and the other laureates as preposterous enough to make the simulation hypothesis seem reasonable by comparison.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
8 June 2026
-
This hypothesis is also supported by other evidence, such as what appears to be a debris disk around the star.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
6 June 2026
Noun
-
The timing of the declaration comes two weeks after OpenAI publicized one of its AI models as having disproved an 80-year-old mathematical conjecture in geometry.—
Jeremy Hsu,
ArsTechnica,
2 June 2026
-
For now, however, that’s all conjecture.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
26 May 2026
Noun
-
While some political observers are brushing off speculation that a deluge of ballots could allow Steyer to crawl into the top two, conservative activists are keeping a close watch.—
Phillip M. Bailey,
USA Today,
5 June 2026
-
Erica Donald’s three-word rebuttal on X to speculation about her husband playing football again was also light-hearted.—
Steve Henson,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
That investment thesis depends on proximity.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
29 May 2026
-
My thesis this week for a bearish-to-bullish reversal rested on the idea that ZS had been unfairly punished and that the 50-day moving average was turning positive.—
Michael Khouw,
CNBC,
28 May 2026
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
-
Zlotnikov wrote that the condition was likely caused by a mutation that had occurred very early in embryonic development, a supposition that was confirmed decades later by genetic analysis.—
Jerome Groopman,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Predetermination.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/predetermination. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
