PREDETERMINATION Synonyms: 29 Similar and Opposite Words

predetermination

noun

Definition of predetermination

as in theory

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of predetermination The presiding judge granted Sweeney's attorney's request to change the charge to second-degree murder or manslaughter as the court lacked sufficient evidence to try him for first-degree murder since predetermination was not established. — Rebecca Aizin, PEOPLE, 30 Oct. 2025 He was also accused of failing to respect and comply with the law by denying due process to litigants and lawyers and demonstrating a bias or predetermination for certain cases. — Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 14 May 2025 From there we’re introduced to the Time Variance Authority where Loki is taken for messing with predetermination—a strict timeline set up by the powerful and mysterious Time Keepers—and introduced to Agent Mobius (Owen Wilson). — Erik Kain, Forbes, 8 June 2021 Both seasons of The Umbrella Academy raise questions about the nature of time travel (as presented in the series) and the tension between choice and predetermination. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 3 Aug. 2020 There is comfort in subsuming your sense of individuality to a larger sentiment of prescription and predetermination. — Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2019 Yet the movie has a mythic thrust that’s partly due to its almost playful manipulation of time, its silent flash-forwards lending the story a feeling of futility and predetermination. — Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2018

Recent Examples of Synonyms for predetermination

Noun

Pike didn’t always have such a cogent theory of the power of the body in performance.

— Sarah Crompton, Vogue, 21 Oct. 2026
The idea that the absence of private property and systematic inequality automatically removes coercion—which forms the core of the Marxist theory of history—is not proven.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of theory

Noun

Pollet, the state representative who sponsored the 2018 presumption bill, acknowledged that the law has fallen short of his expectation.

— Lizz Giordano, ProPublica, 22 Oct. 2026
To many, not least the young, both literary culture and the world of bookselling are beginning a great new climb, calling into question many presumptions about the digital century and the market models that sustain it.

— Nathan Heller, New Yorker, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of presumption

Noun

Consistent with their hypothesis, the secretion signal helps transfer the enzyme out of the cell, while the lipid anchor holds it near the cell surface.

— Muskan Bhatia, Interesting Engineering, 21 Oct. 2026
But there are indirect consequences of the Many Worlds hypothesis that could lend the idea credibility.

— Philipp Strasberg, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of hypothesis

Noun

No matter how much Reid would rather talk about anything else — and no matter how much the 23-year-old Simmons’ future remains to be determined despite conjecture through the haze.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 26 Oct. 2026
On its surface, the conjecture concerns the behavior of a particular function.

— Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of conjecture

Noun

Each new release of a frontier AI model, such as Anthropic’s Mythos or OpenAI’s Astra, brings a new wave of speculation over how much closer this takes us to artificial general intelligence (AGI) and how much further that lofty goal remains.

— Noah Giansiracusa, Time, 26 Oct. 2026
Last weekend's loss was ugly enough that speculation started immediately afterward that Sam Darnold might be in danger of losing his starting job to Drew Lock.

— Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of speculation

Noun

Michael Monaghan, portfolio manager at Founder ETFs, says that's part of the investment thesis.

— Jordan Novet, CNBC, 26 Oct. 2026
Written in Latin, the theses were relatively tentative in tone, consisting of 95 short propositions—most just a sentence or two.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of thesis

Noun

In a sport that generally rewards complete, deep teams, Judge looks like someone who could carry a whole club himself and the Yankees’ results supported that supposition.

— Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2026
But that was our supposition, not hers, even if borrowing the single’s title for the whole project did seem to make a promise the full record isn’t prepared to deliver on.

— Chris Willman, Variety, 19 Sep. 2026

Definition of supposition

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predetermination

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“Predetermination.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/predetermination. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of predetermination

noun

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