ordained; ordaining; ordains
1
: to invest (see invest entry 2 sense 1) officially (as by the laying on of hands) with ministerial or priestly authority
was ordained as a priest
2
a
: to establish or order by appointment, decree, or law : enact
we the people … do ordain and establish this Constitution—
U.S. Constitution
U.S. Constitution
b
: destine, foreordain
It is futile to try to avoid what destiny has ordained.
: to issue an order
so the gods have ordained
ordainer
noun
Examples of ordain in a Sentence
She is an ordained minister.
The process was ordained by law.
Recent Examples on the Web
He was born in Wichita and ordained a priest for the Diocese of Wichita in May 1994.
—Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 8 Apr. 2025
Born in Philadelphia, Jones in 1802 became the first Black priest ordained in the Episcopal Church.
—Jared McCallister, New York Daily News, 15 Feb. 2025
That desire led him to the seminary in 1982, and, three years later, he was ordained as a deacon and priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut.
—Melanie Stetson Freeman, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Jan. 2025
Flynn was ordained in 1967 by Cardinal John P. Cody and began serving as assistant pastor at Chicago’s St. Priscilla Parish and Resurrection Parish as well as Cicero’s Our Lady of the Mount Parish, which is now part of Our Lady, The Mystical Rose Parish, the archdiocese said.
—Olivia Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 13 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ordain
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Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 8 Apr. 2025
Born in Philadelphia, Jones in 1802 became the first Black priest ordained in the Episcopal Church.
—Jared McCallister, New York Daily News, 15 Feb. 2025
That desire led him to the seminary in 1982, and, three years later, he was ordained as a deacon and priest in the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut.
—Melanie Stetson Freeman, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Jan. 2025
Flynn was ordained in 1967 by Cardinal John P. Cody and began serving as assistant pastor at Chicago’s St. Priscilla Parish and Resurrection Parish as well as Cicero’s Our Lady of the Mount Parish, which is now part of Our Lady, The Mystical Rose Parish, the archdiocese said.
—Olivia Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 13 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ordain
Cite this Entry
“Ordain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ordain. Accessed 14 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
ordain
verb
or·dain
ȯr-ˈdān 
1
: to make a person a Christian minister or priest by a special ceremony
2
a
: decree entry 2
it was ordained by law
b
: destine sense 1
we seem ordained to fail
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