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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What look like high-end picnic tables stacked by the dozens inside the warehouse are actually merchandise display tables, of varying heights, destined for retailers Gap and Old Navy, Philip Rosenband said.—
Mike Nolan,
Chicago Tribune,
20 May 2025
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Matos hit a line drive that appeared destined for right field.—
Jaylon Thompson,
Kansas City Star,
20 May 2025
Verb
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One of the stars, Craig Wallace, has been ordained.—
Alexis Soloski,
New York Times,
19 May 2025
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Married men can be ordained as deacons while women cannot, although historians say women served as deacons in the early Christian church.—
Nicole Winfield,
Chicago Tribune,
15 May 2025
Verb
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Now, attention is turning to whether sustainability expectations set by major platforms can actually trickle down to reshape fashion into something fundamentally more sustainable—or whether such initiatives are inherently doomed to be disconnected from material change.—
Nicole Rycroft,
Sourcing Journal,
19 May 2025
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David Ramos / Getty Images) Your Next Read Premier League top-five odds: Chelsea in trouble, Nottingham Forest doomed? Champions League final odds, betting predictions: Inter or Paris Saint-Germain?—
Julia Ranney,
New York Times,
15 May 2025
Verb
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Unlike the characters marked for death in a Final Destination film, this sixth installment in the franchise just felt fated to live, overcoming obstacle after obstacle that might have killed other movies.—
Aaron Couch,
HollywoodReporter,
20 May 2025
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Perhaps this show, too, is a dream—one from which we are fated to wake sooner, rather than later.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
18 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Foreordain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foreordain. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.
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