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
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
  • With a stylish matching set for $30, a makeup bag that even flight attendants swear by, and a genius anti-theft accessory that takes up zero packing space, these Amazon finds are destined to be summer travel game-changers—with deals up to 70 percent off.
    Erin Cavoto, Travel + Leisure, 16 May 2026
  • Films about filmmaking often seem destined for film lovers only, to the detriment of everyone else.
    Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 16 May 2026
Adjective
  • 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
  • Young people changed quickly and not on any predetermined schedule.
    Anna Wiener, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
Verb
  • Irwin, at first, looks like the protagonist of the film, a naive man who has faith in hard work and straight shooting and providing a better life for his kids, and who seems doomed to be pushed into terrible things.
    Alison Willmore, Vulture, 17 May 2026
  • What’s doomed the Rays in recent years has been injuries, particularly to their starting pitchers — five top Rays starters had Tommy John surgery since 2020 and two of their current starters, Shane McClanahan and Drew Rasmussen have had multiple TJ surgeries.
    Bill Madden, New York Daily News, 16 May 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
  • 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
  • From the standpoint of productivity, however, ephemera often seems counter to efficiency—to getting a coherent story down on paper and ready for publication as soon as humanly possible.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 May 2026
  • Investigators are examining possible anti-Islamic writings found in the car where police found the dead suspects, two senior law enforcement officials said.
    Dennis Romero, NBC news, 19 May 2026
Adjective
  • Eight of those cases have been laboratory confirmed for Andes virus infection, while two are considered probable cases.
    Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 16 May 2026
  • Besides wanting to back the probable winner (Bass) who can help deliver lucrative new contracts, the police union also has reasons to spite Raman.
    Sal Rodriguez, Oc Register, 15 May 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Preordained.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/preordained. Accessed 22 May. 2026.

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