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Definition of "predestination" [pre•des•ti•na•tion]

  • The act of predestining or the condition of being predestined. (noun)
  • Theology The doctrine that God has foreordained all things, especially that God has elected certain souls to eternal salvation. (noun)
  • Theology The divine decree foreordaining all souls to either salvation or damnation. (noun)
  • Theology The act of God foreordaining all things gone before and to come. (noun)
  • Destiny; fate. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "predestination" in a sentence
  • "But even when man's supernatural end alone is taken into consideration, the term predestination is not always used by theologians in an unequivocal sense."
  • "Some notice, on the other hand, must be devoted to providence and to the particular aspects of providence which we call predestination and reprobation; and with a brief treatment of these which are elsewhere fully treated this article will be concluded."
  • ""reprobation", so that the term predestination is reserved for the"
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