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Glite Dictionary
✅ Already decided ⏳ In the past
foregone

foregone

16 4.6
Already decided and certain to happen
  • adjective
  • /fɔrˈɡoʊn/
translation icon : inevitable
  • Given the team's strong performance, their victory seems like a foregone conclusion.
  • a foregone conclusion

I mean, all this information I'm reading, it's a foregone conclusion that XY and Z.

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Examples

  • The death sentence is not a foregone conclusion.

    Bridge of Spies (2015)

  • If the preliminary vote is any indication, the outcome is a foregone conclusion.

    Academic text (2016)

  • This is not a foregone conclusion.

    Kipchoge: The Last Milestone (2021)

  • Nothing here is a foregone conclusion.

    Morgan (2016)

  • If capture is a foregone conclusion... you go down with your plane.

    Bridge of Spies (2015)

  • After the bill passed out of committee on April 7th, we knew the end result was a foregone conclusion.

    Academic text (2010)

  • Most of the talk is that a war with Iran is a foregone conclusion.

    Blog text (15)

  • I'd say 2008 was pretty well a foregone conclusion a couple of weeks out from election day.

    Blog text (18)

  • His reelection every two years was a foregone conclusion.

    Charlie Wilson's War (2007)

  • Both states struggled through the implementation of heterodox programs, and success was never a foregone conclusion.

    Academic text (1994)

Synonyms

fated
vsforegone
27 5.3

Certain to happen and not able to be changed

focuses on certainty without suggesting fate
destined
vsforegone
6 4.1

Sure to happen or meant to be sent to a certain place

is similar but states certainty without implying fate
foreordained
vsforegone
  • Formal
1 9.9

Decided before it happens and cannot be changed, often because of fate or a god

says outcome is certain but not necessarily divinely fixed
predetermined
vsforegone
5.3

Decided before it happens

is certain but not necessarily arranged beforehand
predestined
vsforegone
7.7

Fate or a higher power decides a person's life in advance

expresses certainty without implying divine causation

Antonyms

uncertain
149 2.8

Not known for sure and likely to change

undecided
75 2.9

Not yet sure which option or side to choose

Compounds

foregone conclusion
  • Informal
14 3.7

A result that is sure to happen and cannot be changed

How Certain

foreordained
  • Formal
1 9.9
inevitable
467 4.6
foregone
16 4.6
certain
946 1.0
probable
200 3.4
likely
∞ 1.0
possible
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

foregone positive

Morphology

foregone = gone (semi-transparent) = fore + gone

The meaning 'already decided or certain to happen' is an extended, idiomatic use (as in 'foregone conclusion') rather than a strictly literal 'before gone', so learners may not fully predict this sense from the parts alone.

Etymology

Foregone comes from old words that mean 'gone before'. The parts fore- 'before' and gone 'past' make it feel like the event has already happened, so a foregone result is one that seems already decided.