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
-
Choose clarity over assumption, and move forward with agreements that feel grounded, mutual, and realistic to maintain over time.—
Tarot.com,
The Orlando Sentinel,
6 May 2026
-
Ricketts has minor quibbles with some of the assumptions behind these projections.—
Jonathan Lambert,
NPR,
6 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 supporters are left to fill the silence with speculation, chants and, now, airborne protest banners.—
Eddie Brown,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 May 2026
-
A lot of reality programming feels like a delivery system for viewer speculation and judgment, often to tremendous entertainment value.—
Todd Gilchrist,
IndieWire,
7 May 2026
Noun
-
Central to the thesis underpinning superior earnings growth is the idea that artificial intelligence is a 'secular' trend, and is therefore shielded from the peaks and troughs of the economic cycle.—
Joseph Wilkins,
CNBC,
8 May 2026
-
So Squeri ran his thesis past his biggest shareholder.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
6 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 13 May. 2026.
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