PREORDAINED Synonyms: 65 Similar and Opposite Words

preordained 1 of 2

adjective

as in destined

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

preordained

2 of 2

verb

past tense of preordain

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of preordained

Verb

So when she was approached by an editor at Batsford Books with a proposal to write a book on Prada, it felt preordained. — Irene Kim, Vogue, 4 Nov. 2026 The old lanes of gossip dissemination, like tabloid journalism and celebrity-interest television, are largely obsolete now, eliminating the need for gatekeepers and preordained authors of cultural fiction. — Ivy Wolk, Vulture, 28 Oct. 2026 The connections among them, in other words, are organic rather than preordained. — David L. Ulin, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026 This mythologizing of a masculine, European (though crucially not British) version of Columbus supported burgeoning American ideals of Manifest Destiny (the idea that the United States was preordained to expand to the Pacific Ocean and beyond). — Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Sep. 2026 The script by Strippoli and Salvatore de Chirico shrewdly underplays that hand, instead cushioning the vanity factor in sincere parental concern for the children’s health, well-being and preordained path to success. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026 One day, during my visit, Cole used a step stool to access a small cubbyhole in a high corner of a bedroom wall—a sort of illogical nook that seemed preordained to house some private, upsetting object. — Laura Preston, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026 The literary poster child for the old type of soldier was Ernest Hemingway, who, like many men of his generation, had preordained military service as a child. — Literary Hub, 10 Aug. 2026 Just because there is some constraint, doesn’t mean that your path has to be preordained. — Nir Bashan, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for preordained

Adjective

The format allows for spontaneous collaborations, with musicians building on one another’s ideas rather than following a predetermined concert program.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 5 Nov. 2026
But Coker said school board members should be able to explore ideas, ask difficult questions, and evaluate options without every preliminary discussion being characterized as a predetermined course of action.

— Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of predetermined

Verb

Originally cast in 2023 as a contestant for the K-pop reality show that formed Katseye, she was booted out early partly because—despite becoming a fan favorite in Netflix’s subsequent docuseries—the judges sensed she was destined for solo stardom.

— Liam Hess, Vogue, 4 Nov. 2026
But unless and until Starship demonstrates Falcon 9–like reliability, SpaceX’s shift away from its current mainstay seems destined to produce major ripple effects across the space industry, affecting numerous customers.

— Ramin Skibba, Scientific American, 4 Nov. 2026

Definition of destined

Adjective

Her foray into television, which started in 2017, was not exactly foreordained.

— Tammy LaGorce, New York Times, 14 May 2024
With all of those movements, when the central issue was really crystallized as a choice between what is clearly right and just, and what is clearly unjust and wrong and deadly and dangerous, then the outcome becomes foreordained.

— Cara Buckley, New York Times, 15 Apr. 2024

Definition of foreordained

Verb

Those are the type of numbers that doomed the Sixers for most of the last 10 years.

— CBS News, CBS News, 31 Oct. 2026
And writer Faran Krentcil digs through her dating and designer past to find out whether a partner’s dislike of your fashion sense means the relationship is doomed from the start.

— InStyle, InStyle, 24 Oct. 2026

Definition of doomed

Adjective

His paintings and ceramics are layered and collage-like, driven by instinct rather than by a predestined end point.

— Marissa Gluck, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026
Hassouna and co-editor Denis LePaven pace the chronological patchwork of footage less as a story with a predestined shape, and more as shifting tiles of accumulating losses that the audience can traverse without being too overwhelmed.

— Ritesh Mehta, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of predestined

Verb

Annie is the latest in a line of women, some 300 in all, scattered across the United States and in at least nine other countries, who in the last two decades have defied the Catholic Church to be ordained as deacons, priests and bishops.

— Jonathan Bullington, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
He was ordained in 2018 after studies at the University of Dallas and Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of ordained

Adjective

Digital twin technology makes this possible by creating virtual representations of real-world objects, systems, and processes that can be updated with operational data.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 8 Nov. 2026
The meteorological agency warned people to brace for possible strong quakes in the coming week, especially the next two to three days.

— Yuri Kageyama, Los Angeles Times, 8 Nov. 2026

Definition of possible

Browse Nearby Words

preordain

preordained

preordaining

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Preordained.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/preordained. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of preordained

adjective

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

wabi-sabi

Popular in Grammar & Usage

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes