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predestinarian

predestinarian

9.9
A person who believes God decides who will be saved and people cannot change it
  • noun
  • /ˌpriːdɛstəˈnɛəriən/
  • Formal
translation icon : predestinario
  • A predestinarian theocrat may have no reason to support political freedom because she thinks salvation has already been determined.

Examples

  • predestinarian argued that human efforts to change fate are futile because everything is predetermined by a higher power.

  • His views as a predestinarian led him to think that every event in life, including disasters and successes, was already ordained.

  • As a predestinarian, she believes that all aspects of life, including who will be saved, are decided by divine will.

Synonyms

fatalist
vspredestinarian
3 7.9

A person who believes events are already decided and cannot be changed

asserts divine determination, concentrating on salvation rather than mere acceptance
determinist
vspredestinarian
  • Specialized
2 8.8

A person who believes everything, even our choices, is caused by earlier events

sees divine will as the cause of fate rather than impersonal prior causes
predestinationist
vspredestinarian
9.9

A person who believes God already decided their future

focuses especially on salvation being decided in advance by divine power
necessitarian
vspredestinarian
  • Formal
9.9

A person who believes all actions are fixed by earlier events, not by free choice

frames events as ordained by a divine power rather than by impersonal necessity

Antonyms

free will
93 5.8

Ability to choose what you do without being controlled by outside forces

Surface Forms

predestinarian singular
predestinarians plural

Morphology

predestinarian = predestination (semi-transparent) = pre + destin + arian

If a learner knows 'predestination', '-arian' fairly clearly signals a believer in or adherent of that doctrine, but the learned theological register makes the formation less than fully obvious.

Etymology

Predestinarian comes from the parts pre- meaning 'before' and destiny meaning 'fate' or a 'fixed future'. A predestinarian is a person who believes our life or who will be saved was decided 'before' we were born, which explains the word's meaning.