predestinate
/pɹiːˈdɛstɪnət/
predestinate means predestined, preordained. It carries an Arena rating of 1533, earned across 42 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, predestinate ranks #1,727 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words, #2,454 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #3,936 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #5,273 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words.
predestinate is pronounced /pɹiːˈdɛstɪnət/.
Why “predestinate” is a great word
PREDESTINATE — [Adjective, Verb] Foreordained or decreed beforehand; to determine an outcome in advance, especially by divine will. From Middle English predestinate, from Latin praedestinātus, past participle of praedestināre ("to determine beforehand"), from prae- ("before") + destināre ("to determine, establish"). Unlike "fated," which implies an impersonal, inevitable drift, or the more common "predestine," "predestinate" is a rarer, heavier word burdened with the specific gravity of theological decree. It is the unalterable name inscribed in a celestial ledger before birth; the fixed trajectory of a stone dropped in a lightless well; the heavy, incense-laden air of a conclusion reached before the argument began—a word that turns life from a story being written into a text being read aloud, one irrevocable syllable at a time.
Etymology
From Middle English predestinate, from Latin praedestinātus, past participle of praedestināre. By surface analysis, pre- + destinate.
adj
- Predestined, preordained.e.g.“God keep your ladyship still in that mind; so some gentleman or other shall 'scape a predestinate scratched face.” — 1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] B
verb
- To predestine.e.g.“Whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son.” — 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Romans 8:29:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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