as in to destine
to determine the fate of in advance
we are such good friends, it's almost like we were foreordained to meet
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Recent Examples of foreordain
The Russian invasion of Ukraine, in February, 2022, was no more inevitable or foreordained than the U.S. invasion of Iraq, in 2003.
—
Keith Gessen, The New Yorker, 12 June 2023
Before anything else is said about Lana Del Rey’s new album, let it be noted that however well the record came out, it was foreordained to come in second among her artistic works of the past year.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 24 Mar. 2023
Pelosi is more than happy for additional evidence to be disclosed and for the Senate to call witnesses, even after the House has impeached and when the resolution of the trial is foreordained.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 17 Jan. 2020
The outcome was not foreordained, for either Bork or Mr. Biden.
—Alexander Burns, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2019
The 41st president, who couldn’t always get his sentences straight, wasn’t foreordained for history’s hall of fame.
—Josef Joffe, WSJ, 3 Dec. 2018
Aster piles on the personal confrontations and emotional breakdowns, but compounds them with unnerving new hauntings, all the way up to an ending that feels foreordained, but still shattering.
—Tasha Robinson, The Verge, 8 June 2018
This is hardly foreordained, especially if the U.S. reasserts itself on the global stage and rallies like-minded nations against the revisionists.
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 18 Dec. 2017
Egypt’s slide back into authoritarianism wasn’t foreordained.
—Joshua Hammer, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2017
Keith Gessen, The New Yorker, 12 June 2023
Before anything else is said about Lana Del Rey’s new album, let it be noted that however well the record came out, it was foreordained to come in second among her artistic works of the past year.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 24 Mar. 2023
Pelosi is more than happy for additional evidence to be disclosed and for the Senate to call witnesses, even after the House has impeached and when the resolution of the trial is foreordained.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 17 Jan. 2020
The outcome was not foreordained, for either Bork or Mr. Biden.
—Alexander Burns, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2019
The 41st president, who couldn’t always get his sentences straight, wasn’t foreordained for history’s hall of fame.
—Josef Joffe, WSJ, 3 Dec. 2018
Aster piles on the personal confrontations and emotional breakdowns, but compounds them with unnerving new hauntings, all the way up to an ending that feels foreordained, but still shattering.
—Tasha Robinson, The Verge, 8 June 2018
This is hardly foreordained, especially if the U.S. reasserts itself on the global stage and rallies like-minded nations against the revisionists.
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 18 Dec. 2017
Egypt’s slide back into authoritarianism wasn’t foreordained.
—Joshua Hammer, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for foreordain
Verb
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Florian Wirtz is destined for the top of European club soccer.—
Graham Ruthven,
Forbes,
23 Mar. 2025
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Both bring a sweet wistfulness to the show with a song about those who might dream but are not destined to receive glory or even a thank-you-for-your service.—
Frank Rizzo,
Variety,
21 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Reforms on the table include how to give greater roles to women in the Catholic Church, including ordaining them as deacons, and the greater inclusion of laity in governance and decision making.—
Christopher Lamb,
CNN,
15 Mar. 2025
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This explains, if it is granted that the gods ordained some sort of greatness for the play, the nakedness of its verbal intensity.—
Jay Nordlinger,
National Review,
31 Jan. 2025
Verb
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But without empathy, responsibility, agency, and free will he is doomed to remain a wooden facsimile.—
Ann Kowal Smith,
Forbes,
21 Mar. 2025
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And those who don’t learn from the history of this business are usually doomed to repeat it.—
Sean Keeler,
The Denver Post,
19 Mar. 2025
Verb
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The team’s research reveals that the males aren’t always fated to become food, however.—
Sam Walters,
Discover Magazine,
12 Mar. 2025
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Oscar-winning filmmaker Ezra Edelman’s Prince project is joining a select list of documentaries with a dubious distinction – fated not to see the light of day.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
11 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Foreordain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foreordain. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025.
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