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
-
For a lender, the practical question is not whether the theory still exists.—
Dara-Abasi Ita,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2026
-
If that theory still holds, putative 2028 Democratic candidate Rahm Emanuel has an early advantage — in the bike lane.—
Naomi Lim,
The Washington Examiner,
13 June 2026
Noun
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However, the trust petition argues that Nick Reiner is entitled to a presumption of innocence, and suggests that the family trusts could be subject to future litigation.—
Gene Maddaus,
Variety,
10 June 2026
-
Grande has never been the type to ignore the whispers and presumptions that have accompanied her life in the public eye.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
7 June 2026
Noun
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The working assumption — correctly — is that anything digital taken into China should be treated as potentially compromised.—
Emma Bussey,
FOXNews.com,
11 June 2026
-
There is an assumption of arrogance, of high expectations, of going into every major tournament presuming their team will win it.—
Jack Pitt-Brooke,
New York Times,
10 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
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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
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An OpenAI reasoning model recently overturned a conjecture Paul Erdős posed in 1946, toppling an eighty-year assumption in combinatorial geometry by importing machinery from algebraic number theory — two fields with no obvious reason to meet.—
Christian Catalini,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2026
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But that’s just conjecture, of course.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Mercury News,
9 June 2026
Noun
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Taylor Swift’s appearance at Madison Square Garden Wednesday night, to cheer on a victorious New York Knicks in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, immediately amplified speculation that the pop superstar will soon use the famous Midtown Manhattan arena as the site for her wedding to Travis Kelce.—
Martha Ross,
Mercury News,
11 June 2026
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This comes after months of speculation about a rift between Swift and the couple, who haven’t been seen together since February 2024.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
11 June 2026
Noun
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The investment thesis here is not that any single space company, including SpaceX, will necessarily dominate the next era.—
Nigel Morris,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2026
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The gauziness of the thesis here is matched by the generality of the characters and their lives.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
12 June 2026
Noun
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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
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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 15 Jun. 2026.
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