predetermined 1 of 2

predetermined

2 of 2

verb

past tense of predetermine

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of predetermined
Adjective
Players who find a match mark the square on their tabla with a bean or coin; the game continues until players finish predetermined objectives, such as completing a column, a row, the four corners, or the entire board. — Sanat Pai Raikar, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Oct. 2026 There is no outcome that doesn't have a predetermined excuse. — Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 28 Sep. 2026 Within predetermined restrictions, the system transfers money on your behalf rather than requiring you to open a banking app when a bill is due. — Antoine Sallis, Forbes.com, 23 Sep. 2026 The slow-moving enemies typically follow predetermined paths, which means most encounters are a game of patience. — Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 21 Sep. 2026 The response can be designed into the material and the way its structure is printed, allowing a flat or compact object to transform into a predetermined configuration. — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 30 Aug. 2026 The agency’s medical focus developed through experimentation rather than a predetermined specialization. — Connie Etemadi, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026 Now, academic visa holders will instead be able to stay in the country for a predetermined period of time, generally four years. — Abigail Boggs, The Conversation, 21 Aug. 2026 Nakogee recalls cutting predetermined lengths of cable, then repackaging it onto spools to load onto cargo aircraft. — IEEE Spectrum, 30 July 2026
Verb
The 2027 season is set to be the first year the UIL will have predetermined sites for the semifinal games. — Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Sep. 2026 There aren’t many surprises in this vividly realized but predetermined drama. — ABC News, 23 Sep. 2026 Observers may question the point of holding elections where no meaningful opposition is allowed and the result appears largely predetermined. — Zahra Ullah, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2026 There are predetermined dates for lowered flags each year, and the governor’s office announces any additional dates necessary. — Tania Azhang, Sacbee.com, 28 Aug. 2026 To me, what emerges from this swaying feels more natural than simply forging ahead with a predetermined, easily understood logic. — Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026 The states cite administration statements as evidence that the Section 301 outcome was predetermined. — Luke Fountain, CNBC, 3 Aug. 2026 Democracies do not function well when large numbers of citizens believe outcomes are predetermined, rules are selectively applied, or political insiders decide which questions reach the ballot. — Robert Cordy, Boston Herald, 19 July 2026 One parent shared their experience with this problem at a party, where the kids' food selection was predetermined. — Devonne Goode, Parents, 3 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for predetermined
Adjective
  • Hassouna and co-editor Denis LePaven pace the chronological patchwork of footage less as a story with a predestined shape, and more as shifting tiles of accumulating losses that the audience can traverse without being too overwhelmed.
    — Ritesh Mehta, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2026
  • In retrospect, Sumner seemed predestined to become a famous abolitionist lawyer.
    — Rob Wolfe, The Atlantic, 5 June 2026
Verb
  • His younger brother Princewill Umanmielen currently leads college football in sacks at LSU, with eight and seems destined to join Princely in the NFL one day.
    — Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Some survive because treatment works, not because the cancer was detected earlier; others survive because they were overdiagnosed (diagnosed with a cancer not destined to cause symptoms or death).
    — H. Gilbert Welch, STAT, 6 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • The South's joint chiefs said Saturday the military stepped up surveillance and vigilance for possible further launches from the North and was closely sharing information with the United States and Japan.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 4 Oct. 2026
  • As Yemen returns to a level of fighting intensity not seen since the 2022 truce, the civil war has entered a decisive phase, with several possible avenues forward.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 4 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • In some cases, House Democrats are campaigning on the bill that’s doomed in its current form, presenting a further contrast to the vast majority of Senate Democrats who want nothing to do with it.
    — Ramsey Touchberry, The Washington Examiner, 1 Oct. 2026
  • On the other hand, don’t assume that everyone currently at HBO Max is safe and everyone at Paramount is doomed.
    — Josef Adalian, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • Meanwhile, linebacker Ezekiel Marcelin has been upgraded to probable after initially being listed as questionable.
    — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Her students turn Percy Shelley into a misogynist and probable rapist, then attack the idea that anything written by such a man might remain worth reading.
    — Zain Khalid, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026
Adjective
  • 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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Predetermined.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/predetermined. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!