Predetermine

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˌpɹiː.dɪˈtɜː.mɪn/

Definitions

1. To decide or establish something in advance before it actually occurs or is discovered
2. To set an outcome ahead of time that influences what will happen later on or guides future events
3. To establish a conclusion or result beforehand, affecting later developments or decisions

Etymology: "Predetermine" is a plain compound: the prefix "pre-", meaning "before", attached to "determine", which comes from Latin "determinare", "to set boundaries or limits". So the word literally means to set the boundaries of something ahead of time. The English verb "determine" originally carried that sense of marking an end or limit, and it later came to mean deciding or resolving, a shift that "predetermine" inherits. The compound itself follows a Latin model. Its immediate source is the Latin "praedeterminare", built from "prae-", the Latin ancestor of "pre-", and "determinare". English took up the prefix and root to express the idea of fixing something before it happens, a meaning that "determine" alone does not carry.

Synonyms: decide, foreordain, fix, establish, settle

Antonyms: leave undecided, allow, permit, spontaneous, unplanned