foreordained
adjective
fore·or·dained
ˌfȯr-ȯr-ˈdānd 
: destined or ordained in advance
a foreordained outcome
This device is commonplace, almost foreordained, in tales of doomed heroes …—
John Crowley
John CrowleyExamples of foreordained in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
What unfolds next is both foreordained and unpredictable: a performance superficially the same as any other rendition of the same score, but also profoundly different — wondrous, perhaps, or merely rote.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 16 Oct. 2024
The film is a tragedy in which everything comes out right: Coppola builds his protagonist’s absurd overreach into a foreordained happy ending, and the movie itself is a happy outcome from the very start.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2024
Yet even now, Deng’s warning holds: an Asian century is neither inevitable nor foreordained.
—Lee Hsien Loong, Foreign Affairs, 4 June 2020
Her foray into television, which started in 2017, was not exactly foreordained.
—Tammy Lagorce, New York Times, 14 May 2024
With all of those movements, when the central issue was really crystallized as a choice between what is clearly right and just, and what is clearly unjust and wrong and deadly and dangerous, then the outcome becomes foreordained.
—Cara Buckley, New York Times, 15 Apr. 2024
As Robinson notes, the story had to go this way because Jacob has a foreordained task in becoming one of the patriarchs of Israel.
—James Wood, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024
For all the talk of Senate traditions, the outcome seems pretty foreordained if the Democrats win a majority and the intractable McConnell continues as GOP leader.
—Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, 17 Aug. 2020
And that success is far from foreordained.
—Jennifer Maas, Variety, 4 Aug. 2022
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Justin Davidson, Curbed, 16 Oct. 2024
The film is a tragedy in which everything comes out right: Coppola builds his protagonist’s absurd overreach into a foreordained happy ending, and the movie itself is a happy outcome from the very start.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2024
Yet even now, Deng’s warning holds: an Asian century is neither inevitable nor foreordained.
—Lee Hsien Loong, Foreign Affairs, 4 June 2020
Her foray into television, which started in 2017, was not exactly foreordained.
—Tammy Lagorce, New York Times, 14 May 2024
With all of those movements, when the central issue was really crystallized as a choice between what is clearly right and just, and what is clearly unjust and wrong and deadly and dangerous, then the outcome becomes foreordained.
—Cara Buckley, New York Times, 15 Apr. 2024
As Robinson notes, the story had to go this way because Jacob has a foreordained task in becoming one of the patriarchs of Israel.
—James Wood, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024
For all the talk of Senate traditions, the outcome seems pretty foreordained if the Democrats win a majority and the intractable McConnell continues as GOP leader.
—Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, 17 Aug. 2020
And that success is far from foreordained.
—Jennifer Maas, Variety, 4 Aug. 2022
Dictionary Entries Near foreordained
Cite this Entry
“Foreordained.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/foreordained. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share