What does predestination mean?
Predestination is chiefly a theological term for the belief that God has determined beforehand the eternal destiny of people, particularly whether they will be saved or condemned. It became especially prominent in debates surrounding Calvinism, although Christians have interpreted the relationship between divine sovereignty and human freedom in very different ways. Outside religious writing, the word can also mean the fixing of an outcome in advance, with a connotation of inevitability that is often less explicitly religious. The expression therefore combines the ideas of foreordination and destiny: it describes not merely a predictable future, but one understood in some systems of belief to have been decided beforehand. For general readers, predestination is a useful word for recognizing the central theological issue of divine freedom and human responsibility.
nounIn theology, the doctrine that God has predetermined the eternal destiny of people, especially whether they will be saved or damned. More generally, it refers to the condition of having an outcome fixed in advance.
- The theological doctrine that God has predetermined the eternal destiny of people, especially their salvation or damnation.
- The condition of an outcome being fixed in advance; predetermination or foreordination.
"The debate over predestination has divided Christian theologians for centuries."
"The doctrine of predestination was a central issue in the theological disputes of the Reformation."
"His sense of predestination made it difficult for him to imagine changing the course of his life."
Rare; the word is normally used in the singular or as an uncountable noun.
"The novel explores the different predestinations assigned to its characters."
Predestination turns the question “What will happen to me?” into a theological claim about what God has already decided.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does predestination come from?
The word comes through late Latin from praedestinare, meaning “to establish or determine beforehand.” That Latin term combines prae-, meaning “before,” with destinare, meaning “to appoint, determine, or set,” the same root found in destination and destiny. English borrowed the noun in the 16th century, initially in religious and theological writing.
Related word forms
How predestination is actually used
The word is most common in theological and philosophical contexts. In Christianity, its use is associated especially with debates over Calvinism and closely related traditions, while other Christian traditions may interpret the doctrine differently or reject it. It can sound more formal than everyday expressions such as “fate” or “foreordination.”
Easily confused with predestination
Predestination is the prior determination of an outcome, usually by God, whereas a destination is the place to which someone or something is going.
Predestination is a theological doctrine concerning God's foreordination of human destinies, while determinism is the broader philosophical view that all events are determined by prior causes.