as in theory
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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
-
But with the arrival of the next course, bread and butter, I was forced to revise my theory.—
Helen Rosner,
New Yorker,
10 May 2026
-
The landfill theory made some birding enthusiasts uneasy and prompted some authorities, locals and others to defend Ushuaia, a city of nearly 85,000 that draws tourists to its Antarctic cruise ships and abundant, watchworthy bird population.—
Marlene Lenthang,
NBC news,
10 May 2026
Noun
-
Karas said the note qualifies as a judicial document subject to a strong presumption of public access.—
Greg Wehner , Michael Ruiz,
FOXNews.com,
6 May 2026
-
The presumption that all facts from the CDC are true.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
3 May 2026
Noun
-
And that assumption is likely to drive mortgage interest rates higher, even with the central bank not scheduled to meet again until mid-June.—
Matt Richardson,
CBS News,
13 May 2026
-
Federal policy must reflect current exposure patterns rather than outdated assumptions.—
Anthony Nicome,
STAT,
13 May 2026
Noun
-
Though Descalzo cautioned that the possible role of saunas in transmission is still just a hypothesis, the bacterium is known to spread more efficiently in humid settings.—
Helen Branswell,
STAT,
11 May 2026
-
The hypothesis was that if the aye-aye relied purely on hollow resonance, then the filling inside the cavities should have disrupted its ability to identify them.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
10 May 2026
Noun
-
Because certain members portrayed didn’t leave expansive journals, Fehrman sometimes has to rely on conjecture or push his imaginative reconstruction too far.—
The Week US,
TheWeek,
6 May 2026
-
So, how do Peñarrubia and Nadler know this isn't just some clever mathematical conjecture?—
Paul Sutter,
Space.com,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
And that’s a matter of speculation.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
15 May 2026
-
Your company went through major layoffs in 2024 and sold off about a third of its TV station portfolio for $171 million last year, sparking speculation about a cash crunch for your businesses with the decline of linear TV.—
Erik Hayden,
HollywoodReporter,
14 May 2026
Noun
-
The thesis, as Zidni frames it, is that Indonesian cinema’s next phase cannot rely on individual producers’ persistence.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
15 May 2026
-
The long-tail currency problem, central to the Asia-and-Latin-America thesis, is solved with a hybrid approach.—
Boaz Sobrado,
Forbes.com,
15 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 16 May. 2026.
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