preordained 1 of 2

Definition of preordainednext

preordained

2 of 2

verb

past tense of preordain

Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of preordained
Verb
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 Fans may respond as if the song is preordained; the results of the storyline are not. Tom Roland, Billboard, 12 Nov. 2025 No team in history has won between 38 and 40 games for four straight seasons, yet for the Bulls, this feels almost preordained. John Hollinger, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025 The first thing to emphasize is that nothing is preordained about market cycles — this one may well never get as wild, lucrative and dangerous as the one 25+ years ago. Michael Santoli, CNBC, 6 Oct. 2025 But although the months between September 2024 and August 2025 may have been light on the kind of superstar releases that seem preordained for Grammy sweeps, plenty of other contenders have emerged — and in such circumstances, obvious choices are in short supply. Chris Willman, Variety, 1 Oct. 2025 Our climate is not preordained to remain hospitable forever. Gregory Barber, Quanta Magazine, 15 Sep. 2025 On many of those Friday nights, their ace pitcher, Whitey Ford, faced our ace, Billy Pierce, but an evening that began with high hopes usually ended in painful reality, like it was preordained by the baseball gods. Andy Shaw, Chicago Tribune, 29 Aug. 2025 But the agentic future is not preordained. Marc Benioff, Time, 28 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for preordained
Verb
  • The very flying machine that now seemed destined to disintegrate in midair with us and the little girl.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 12 Jan. 2026
  • Majors seemed destined for the ranks of Hollywood's A-list before he was arrested following a 2023 altercation with his then-girlfriend.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 11 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • Typically, the show features a segment inspired by the classic film where Indy is chased by a barreling boulder down a predetermined track.
    Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 31 Dec. 2025
  • Her takeaway from the experience is a message aimed directly at women who feel stuck, uncertain, or pressured to follow a predetermined timeline.
    Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2025
Verb
  • They were doomed to perish in the fires of hell.
    Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 15 Jan. 2026
  • Evolutionary biologists have long debated whether hunters or climate change ultimately doomed the woolly rhinoceros.
    Evan Bush, NBC news, 14 Jan. 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
  • Prevost was ordained the next June.
    Paul Elie, New Yorker, 5 Jan. 2026
  • Tips for a Brazil Road Trip Divinely ordained or not, our journey left its mark.
    María Cristina Lalonde, Travel + Leisure, 29 Dec. 2025
Adjective
  • 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
  • The study offers rare, direct evidence of this process by tracking cool gas across entire galaxies, something that was not possible before large surveys like MaNGA.
    Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 10 Jan. 2026
  • Ehrlich noted the short careers for college athletes and wondered whether a union for collective bargaining is even possible.
    ANDREW DESTIN, Arkansas Online, 10 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • Elsewhere, a dusting is the most probable scenario.
    Brandi D. Addison, IndyStar, 13 Jan. 2026
  • Newcastle are guaranteed to play a minimum of 53 games this season — likely to become at least 55, given progression to another two-legged European tie seems probable.
    Chris Waugh, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Preordained.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/preordained. Accessed 19 Jan. 2026.

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