Definition

Verb: 1. To decide or determine (an event or outcome) in advance; to foreordain: To decree or settle something before it happens, often implying a divine or fateful power.

Usage

• This verb is typically used in formal or religious contexts to describe events believed to be fixed by fate, destiny, or a higher power.
• It is often used in the passive voice (e.g., "was preordained") or followed by a clause beginning with "that."
• The subject is usually an impersonal force (e.g., fate, destiny, God, the universe) or a person/entity with supreme authority.

Examples

• Active Voice:
  • Some believe that a divine power preordains the course of our lives.
  • The ancient prophecy seemed to preordain the king's downfall.
• Passive Voice:
  • Their meeting felt preordained, as if it was meant to happen.
  • The outcome of the battle was preordained by the strategic advantages of one side.

Advanced Usage

• "to preordain that...": Used to introduce the specific event or outcome that was decided beforehand.
  • The council preordained that the eldest son would inherit the throne.

Variants and Related Words

• Preordained (adjective): Describes something that has been decided in advance.
  • He accepted his preordained fate with calm dignity.
• Preordination (noun): The act of preordaining or the state of being preordained.
  • The doctrine of preordination is a complex theological concept.

Synonyms

• Predestine: To determine beforehand, especially by divine will.
• Foreordain: To appoint or decree beforehand; very similar in meaning and often used interchangeably.
• Predetermine: To establish or decide in advance, often through planning or logic rather than fate.
• Decree: To order something authoritatively, which can happen before the fact.

Related Phrases

• A preordained conclusion/path/outcome: A fixed and inevitable end, route, or result.
  • The story followed a preordained path to its tragic conclusion.

Verb

1. foreordain or determine beforehand