as in accident
the belief that everything that will happen has already been predetermined and cannot be changed
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Recent Examples of predestination
The Rings of Power is governed by an overwhelming sense of predestination.
—
Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2024
Request a Demo Rorty’s version of redemption stands out against certain religious strands in that it is explicitly set against predestination or essentialism.
—Big Think, 14 June 2024
Entertainment Score: 7 Science Score: 9 Arrival (2016) Enlarge / Denis Villeneuve's first foray into sci-fi offers a fun twist on the ancient idea of prophesy or predestination.
—Jennifer Ouellette and Sean M. Carroll, Ars Technica, 24 Nov. 2023
In a place where both psychohistory and predestination exist, how much does personal choice matter?
—Marah Eakin, WIRED, 14 July 2023
See All Example Sentences for predestination
Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2024
Request a Demo Rorty’s version of redemption stands out against certain religious strands in that it is explicitly set against predestination or essentialism.
—Big Think, 14 June 2024
Entertainment Score: 7 Science Score: 9 Arrival (2016) Enlarge / Denis Villeneuve's first foray into sci-fi offers a fun twist on the ancient idea of prophesy or predestination.
—Jennifer Ouellette and Sean M. Carroll, Ars Technica, 24 Nov. 2023
In a place where both psychohistory and predestination exist, how much does personal choice matter?
—Marah Eakin, WIRED, 14 July 2023
See All Example Sentences for predestination
Recent Examples of Synonyms for predestination
Noun
-
Kids don’t learn it from just accident.—
Angel Saunders,
PEOPLE,
28 Oct. 2025
-
Kobolds can just as often decide to be harmful, however, causing accidents, cave-ins, and rockslides for reasons of their own.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The destiny -- as for the past two-plus decades -- is yet to be determined.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
18 Oct. 2025
-
This American remake of the South Korean drama Il Mare is romantic goo that’s relatively easy to resist, and its ruminations on fate, love, destiny, and luck are all pretty standard for the genre.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
18 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The British military historian John Keegan revealed the hazards of this kind of planning in his anatomy of the Schlieffen Plan, the German strategy for fighting a two-front continental war that was devised, in 1905, by the chief of the army’s general staff, Alfred von Schlieffen.—
Elizabeth D. Samet,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
-
Check with lifeguards before entering the ocean for possible hazards you may be swept into.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
All of Tuesday’s big money luck among the Mega Millions, Fantasy 5, Jackpot Triple Play and Cash4Life drawings started and ended on one jackpot.—
David J. Neal,
Miami Herald,
22 Oct. 2025
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The good luck charm apparently had some impact, as Whitney and her partner ended the episode with their first 10s of the season, as well.—
Brenton Blanchet,
PEOPLE,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
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There’s another element of the current concern regarding due process that relates to the fate of poor Cinna.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
23 Oct. 2025
-
What kind of fate might audiences expect for him post-finale?—
Abbey White,
HollywoodReporter,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
And the initial Spätlese Riesling from Germany was also the product of happenstance.—
Mike DeSimone,
Robb Report,
5 Oct. 2025
-
This one came to the company almost by happenstance.—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Jeremy Doku is the next most involved player, with three big chances created and three received.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
23 Oct. 2025
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Pay an additional $1 to add the Power Play for a chance to multiply all Powerball winnings except for the jackpot.—
Chris Sims,
IndyStar,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Job prospects are so bleak that Gen Z is going straight from tossing their graduation caps to years of doom with zero luck.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
28 Oct. 2025
-
In the season four premiere of Mayor of Kingstown, co-creators/writers Hugh Dillon and Taylor Sheridan waste no time smacking viewers with a sense of doom and gloom.—
Demetrius Patterson,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Predestination.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/predestination. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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