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
Wagner commented that in opera the orchestra should act as a medium of premonition, indicating what is foreordained but not yet foreseen.
—
Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024
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
Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for foreordain
Verb
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And, naturally, all of that means its hotels are destined to be intimate and comfy, too.—
Stacey Leasca,
Travel + Leisure,
8 July 2025
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The company now makes about 1,000 flags per day, with many destined for military funerals, government buildings and patriotic front porches nationwide.—
Olivianna Calmes,
FOXNews.com,
4 July 2025
Verb
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There is Chekhov, yes, but in American film the gun going off is ordained by the greater cults of marketable violence.—
Doreen St. Félix,
New Yorker,
14 June 2025
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Many denominations of Christianity do not require the person baptizing someone to be ordained.—
Shaun Goodwin,
Idaho Statesman,
16 May 2025
Verb
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Instead of wasting resources on a venture doomed by structural realities, Musk should pursue a strategy that actually works in American politics: identifying vulnerable Republican incumbents who voted for fiscal irresponsibility and funding primary challengers committed to genuine conservatism.—
Nicholas Creel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 July 2025
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Was the project doomed by the economic realities of globalization, the competitive landscape in the smartphone business, or were Google’s shifting corporate priorities ultimately to blame?—
Verne Kopytoff,
Fortune,
5 July 2025
Verb
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Instead, the world appears fated to witness the decline or even the collapse of international institutions, which may then be replaced by less influential multinational institutions and intensified fragmentation, competition, and transactionalism.—
Oriana Skylar Mastro,
Foreign Affairs,
24 June 2025
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Their friendship, Jasmine says, has always felt fated.—
Ashley Vega,
People.com,
9 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Foreordain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foreordain. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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