as in destined
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as in doomed
to determine the fate of in advance
my wife and I are such soulmates, I'm convinced that our marriage was preordained
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Recent Examples of preordained
Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Apr. 2026
What wasn’t preordained is just how beautifully executed the entire venture turns out to be.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 7 Apr. 2026
Will this year’s Oscar awards be another fait accompli, a bloated snoozer that’s as boring and seemingly preordained as this year’s Super Bowl?
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 9 Mar. 2026
Some might assume that Gooding’s Hollywood career was preordained.
—Juliana Ukiomogbe, InStyle, 3 Mar. 2026
Sports are inherently fraught with tension, but some seem preordained to it more than others.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 20 Feb. 2026
And there again Tuesday morning stood those four teams in the current East play-in bracket, as if preordained to have to fight their way into the playoffs through the pre-playoffs.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 27 Jan. 2026
The forward march of East Asian animation from pop celebration to prestige recognition is not preordained.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 15 Jan. 2026
But 36–23 still taunts and tantalizes us, a magical missing score that reminds every Scorigami devotee that what’s possible isn’t preordained.
—Josh Levin, The Atlantic, 5 Dec. 2025
Verb
The purchase seems preordained, given that both Gert-Jan and Corinne, like Pascon and Boccara, are lively and curious intellectuals.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Apr. 2026
What wasn’t preordained is just how beautifully executed the entire venture turns out to be.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 7 Apr. 2026
Will this year’s Oscar awards be another fait accompli, a bloated snoozer that’s as boring and seemingly preordained as this year’s Super Bowl?
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 9 Mar. 2026
Some might assume that Gooding’s Hollywood career was preordained.
—Juliana Ukiomogbe, InStyle, 3 Mar. 2026
Sports are inherently fraught with tension, but some seem preordained to it more than others.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 20 Feb. 2026
And there again Tuesday morning stood those four teams in the current East play-in bracket, as if preordained to have to fight their way into the playoffs through the pre-playoffs.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 27 Jan. 2026
The forward march of East Asian animation from pop celebration to prestige recognition is not preordained.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 15 Jan. 2026
But 36–23 still taunts and tantalizes us, a magical missing score that reminds every Scorigami devotee that what’s possible isn’t preordained.
—Josh Levin, The Atlantic, 5 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for preordained
Verb
-
Surely, being a prophet destined to die on the cross would be a painful vocation, and the film refuses to look away from this pain.—
Isaac Butler,
New Yorker,
30 May 2026
-
Legend says that tourists who grind their heels on the bull's testicles and spin in place three times are guaranteed good fortune and are destined to return to the city.—
Christopher Edwards,
PEOPLE,
29 May 2026
Adjective
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According to Olson, the podcast does not attempt to force a predetermined conclusion, but instead reexamines the case using modern forensic reconstruction technology and fresh expert analysis.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
23 May 2026
-
According to the piece, the wide-open nature of the race is healthy for democratic participation and has yielded the most competitive gubernatorial contest in approximately 25 years, allowing voters meaningful choice rather than having a predetermined outcome.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
10 May 2026
Verb
-
The other thing that doomed them to a seventh loss in their past eight games is akin to a crack in their foundation.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
3 June 2026
-
Consider that internal Republican opposition doomed last year’s effort to preempt state laws, a debate that feels like light years away from the more bipartisan conversation that’s already happening.—
Eleanor Mueller,
semafor.com,
3 June 2026
Adjective
-
What unfolds next is both foreordained and unpredictable: a performance superficially the same as any other rendition of the same score, but also profoundly different — wondrous, perhaps, or merely rote.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
16 Oct. 2024
-
The film is a tragedy in which everything comes out right: Coppola builds his protagonist’s absurd overreach into a foreordained happy ending, and the movie itself is a happy outcome from the very start.—
Richard Brody,
The New Yorker,
26 Sep. 2024
Verb
-
According to his biography on the New York archdiocese website, Dolan was ordained into the priesthood by the Archdiocese of Saint Louis on June 19, 1976.—
Louis Casiano,
FOXNews.com,
15 May 2026
-
Though several unlicensed Beatles archives exist around the United Kingdom—including in the band’s Liverpool hometown—the new one, formally named The Beatles at 3 Savile Row, is the first to be officially ordained by the band and its label, Apple Corps.—
Jazz Monroe,
Pitchfork,
11 May 2026
Adjective
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Christo and Jeanne-Claude disregarded all threats of legal action, directing Running Fence to complete its predestined voyage into the sea.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Anything and everything is possible and can be achieved with a trademark, down-to-earth friendliness.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
3 June 2026
-
Wherever possible, Arnold shot outside the studio, capturing her subjects going about their everyday lives — a radical approach for celebrity photography at the time.—
Sheena McKenzie,
CNN Money,
3 June 2026
Adjective
-
Wind gusts of up to 60 mph and quarter-sized hail (1 inch) are probable.—
STAR-TELEGRAM WEATHER BOT,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
2 June 2026
-
That outcome looks highly probable, with a deep bench of performers in the hunt, among them Patrick Ball, Sepideh Moafi, Taylor Dearden and Shawn Hatosy.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Preordained.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/preordained. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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