What does foreordainment mean?
Foreordainment is a formal noun meaning that something has been determined or destined before it happens. Its best-known use is in theology, where it refers to God's determination of human destinies or the course of events. In broader literary and philosophical contexts, it can describe the idea that the future is already fixed, whether by divine providence, fate, or some other predetermined order. The word is noticeably uncommon in everyday speech and is more likely to appear in religious writing, historical argument, or elevated literary prose than in ordinary conversation. Its associations can be solemn and weighty, often suggesting a view in which individual freedom and contingency are limited. The term is also useful when discussing doctrines of predestination and providence, where the distinction between human choice and prior divine ordering is central.
nounThe determination or predetermination of events before they happen, especially according to divine will. It can also refer to a person or thing's destined fate.
- The determination of events before they occur, especially through divine will or an established destiny.
"The philosopher considered the apparent randomness of history against the possibility of divine foreordainment."
"The sermon reflected a traditional understanding of human life as shaped by divine foreordainment."
"Her sense of foreordainment made the apparent coincidences of the journey seem less accidental."
The plural is grammatical but rarely needed because the word is normally used in the singular.
"The philosophical discussion considered competing accounts of divine foreknowledge and foreordainments."
Foreordainment imagines the future not as an open page, but as a story whose ending has already been written.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does foreordainment come from?
The word was formed in English by combining the prefix fore-, meaning before or in advance, with ordainment, a word meaning the act of ordering or appointing. Ordainment derives through English and Old French from the Latin ordinare, meaning to arrange, regulate, or put in order. Foreordainment thus literally conveys the idea of ordering or determining something in advance, with its principal modern development occurring in theological and philosophical writing.
Related word forms
How foreordainment is actually used
Chiefly formal, literary, or theological. In religious contexts it may carry doctrinal implications and can sound solemn or archaic; in everyday use, it is uncommon and often suggests a strongly deterministic view of events.
Easily confused with foreordainment
Ordainment is the act of formally establishing or appointing someone, whereas foreordainment means determining or destining something beforehand.