Meaning & use
pre-determination
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Meanings
noununcountable
The act of deciding something in advance, or the state of being decided before it happens.
Grammar: Used without 'a' or a plural when talking about the general idea: the pre-determination of policy.
Patterns
- the pre-determination of something
- pre-determination of a result
Critics complained about the pre-determination of the committee's findings.
The judge rejected any suggestion of pre-determination in the case.
noununcountablereligionformal
In philosophy and religion, the belief that God has already decided everything that will happen.
Grammar: Often written with a hyphen; the unhyphenated 'predetermination' is equally common.
Patterns
- belief in pre-determination
- the doctrine of pre-determination
The debate over pre-determination and free will has lasted for centuries.
Some theologians see pre-determination as central to their understanding of divine power.
noununcountablelegaldisapproving
A decision made in advance that unfairly fixes an outcome before the proper process is finished.
Grammar: Used mainly in legal and official contexts to criticize a biased decision.
Patterns
- allegations of pre-determination
- accuse someone of pre-determination
The council was accused of pre-determination after approving the plan before the consultation ended.
Appeal courts look closely for signs of pre-determination in lower rulings.
Common combinations
- the pre-determination of policy
- Members worried about the pre-determination of policy before the public debate.
- allegations of pre-determination
- The report contained serious allegations of pre-determination.
- the doctrine of pre-determination
- Calvin is famous for his teaching on the doctrine of pre-determination.
- free will versus pre-determination
- Her essay examines free will versus pre-determination.
Synonyms and how they differ
- predestination
- Used mainly in religion for the idea that God has already chosen who will be saved; pre-determination is broader and can also mean a biased decision made in advance.
- foreordination
- A rare, formal term for being appointed beforehand, mostly in religious writing; pre-determination is far more common.
- bias
- Bias means an unfair preference in general, while pre-determination stresses that the decision was effectively made before the proper process took place.
Opposites
Word family
- predetermine verb
- to decide or settle something in advance
- predetermined adjective
- decided or arranged before it happens
- predetermination noun
- the unhyphenated spelling of the same noun
Commonly confused: pre-determination or predeterminer?
pre-determination vs predeterminer
A grammar term for a word like 'all' or 'both' that comes before a determiner; it has nothing to do with deciding things in advance.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'pre-determination' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Pre-determination' is a noun meaning a decision made in advance, so it fits 'the coach's pre-determination of the starting team'. Option 2 is wrong because a simple personal plan is just 'decision'. Option 3 treats it as a personal quality. Option 4 uses it as a verb, but the verb is 'predetermine'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pre-determination”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.