predestination
pre·des·ti·na·tion/pɹi.dɛs.tɪˈneɪ.ʃən/noun
predestination is spelled P-R-E-D-E-S-T-I-N-A-T-I-O-N: 14 letters and 5 syllables (pre·des·ti·na·tion). It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 52,337th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, predestination means “The doctrine that everything has been foreordained by God or by fate” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of predestination is predestinations.
How many letters and syllables are in predestination?
| Letters | 14: P-R-E-D-E-S-T-I-N-A-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5: pre·des·ti·na·tion |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 52,337th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is predestination?
Predestination appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 52,337th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce predestination?
- /pɹi.dɛs.tɪˈneɪ.ʃən/
Predestination has 5 syllables, split pre·des·ti·na·tion in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-predestination.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of predestination
- predestinations plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does predestination mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The doctrine that everything has been foreordained by God or by fate.
- 2
The doctrine that certain people have been elected for salvation, and sometimes also that others are destined for reprobation.
- 3
Destiny or fate.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Predestination in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense religious doctrine:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | prédestination |
| German | Prädestination, Vorherbestimmung |
| Portuguese | predestinação |
| Spanish | predestinación |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does predestination come from?
From Middle English predestinacion, from Old French predestination, from Late Latin praedēstinātiō. By surface analysis, predestine + -ation. Displaced native Old English foreteohhung.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).