What does predetermine mean?
Predetermine means to decide, fix, or establish something before it happens. The word is used when a result, schedule, direction, or course of action is determined in advance rather than being decided later. It commonly appears in formal contexts such as planning, law, science, and analysis, and can suggest that the outcome is already settled. For example, a predetermined schedule is one that has been fixed beforehand, while a predetermined outcome may be influenced by forces or decisions established earlier. The word can also describe the act of deciding something in advance: officials may predetermine the order of events or predetermine which factors will be considered. Its meaning is close to determine, but its prefix pre- adds the important temporal distinction of beforehand.
verbTo determine or decide something before it happens, especially in advance of an event, decision, or outcome. It can also mean to limit or establish the result beforehand.
- To decide, determine, or establish something in advance.
- To fix the direction, nature, or result of something before it develops or happens.
"The schedule was predetermined weeks in advance, so the team could prepare for the deadline."
"The organizers predetermined the order of the performances several months earlier."
"Genes help predetermine some aspects of an organism's development, although environmental factors also play a role."
Predetermine is the language of things that seem already decided—especially outcomes shaped long before anyone takes action.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does predetermine come from?
Predetermine was formed in the early 19th century from the prefix pre-, meaning before, and determine, meaning to decide or establish. Determine itself comes through Old French determiner from Latin determinare, composed of de- and terminare, related to terminus, meaning a limit or boundary. The same Latin root appears in determinate, determinative, and determination, all of which concern fixing, defining, or establishing something.
Related word forms
How predetermine is actually used
Predetermine is formal and often implies that a decision, result, or course of events has been settled in advance. It is especially common in academic, legal, technical, and planning contexts.
Easily confused with predetermine
Determine means to establish or decide something, while predetermine emphasizes making that decision or fixing the result before the relevant process or event takes place.