Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To appoint, decree, or ordain in advance; foreordain.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To ordain or decree beforehand; predetermine.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To ordain or appoint beforehand: to predetermine: to foreordain.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To determine the fate of something in advance

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb foreordain or determine beforehand

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

  • Specifically, did the fact that I played left wing in high school soccer -- and here my explicit egotism requires me to point out that I did not play with two left feet -- preordain my placement on the left wing of the political spectrum?

    Michael Sigman: Why We Hate Going to the Dennis Michael Sigman 2011

  • Of course, these parallels do not preordain a second Depression.

    Depression 2010? 2010

  • Nobody tried to preordain in my mind what place the death of animals should have in the consciousness.

    The Foie Gras Wars Mark Caro 2009

  • In other words, does where we're born preordain where our loyalties will fall?

    The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies: Questions 2007

  • Nobody tried to preordain in my mind what place the death of animals should have in the consciousness.

    The Foie Gras Wars Mark Caro 2009

  • Let's just say that depending on how you design a study you can practically preordain the outcome.

    Just Say No—To Bad Science 2007

  • Indeed, many men without any history of criminal behavior now live literally under the gun—and I'm not even going to get going on domestic-violence restraining orders, whose legitimate purpose as originally conceived is now routinely abused to preordain custody decisions when no evidence of physical violence has been presented.

    Law's Quandary and Justice Scalia Mike L 2005

  • Indeed, many men without any history of criminal behavior now live literally under the gun—and I'm not even going to get going on domestic-violence restraining orders, whose legitimate purpose as originally conceived is now routinely abused to preordain custody decisions when no evidence of physical violence has been presented.

    Archive 2005-11-01 Mike L 2005

  • And sometimes when you preordain conclusions in law, you make it harder to unravel complex problems.

    Press Briefing By Mike Mccurry ITY National Archives 1998

  • And sometimes when you preordain conclusions in law, you make it harder to unravel complex problems.

    Press Briefing By Mike Mccurry A ITY National Archives 1998

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