predetermine

[pree-di-tur-min]

verb (used with object)

predetermined, predetermining 

1. to settle or decide in advance.

   He had predetermined his answer to the offer.

2. to ordain in advance; predestine.

   She believed that God had predetermined her sorrow.

3. to direct or impel; influence strongly.

   His sympathy for poor people predetermined his choice of a career.

predetermine

/ ˌpriːdɪˈtɜːmɪn /

verb

1. to determine beforehand

2. to influence or incline towards an opinion beforehand; bias

Other Word Forms

• predetermination noun
• predeterminative adjective
• predeterminer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of predetermine¹

First recorded in 1615–25; pre- + determine

Example Sentences

Obama’s subtle and possibly unconscious change from the cosmological to the temporal is significant in showing that liberals, too, think that history is somehow predetermined in their favor.

From Salon

But Jerold Mande, a former federal food policy advisor in three administrations, worries that Kennedy's own views and biases will mean some of the solutions he's reaching for are predetermined and unsupported by the evidence.

From BBC

Despite his improved execution and efficiency, it turned out he and the team had made a predetermined decision not to push him for a second inning quite yet.

From Los Angeles Times

This is because there has been a desperate search for a plausible theological justification for a predetermined political decision for Trump.

From Salon

"We have been subject to politically motivated investigations that opened and closed without discussion, leaving little doubt that their outcomes were predetermined."

From BBC

Related Words

• predispose