predetermine

Predetermine is a verb meaning to determine something in advance or beforehand. It implies setting an outcome, plan, or condition before events unfold, rather than reacting to them as they occur. The term is often used in formal or technical contexts. Closely related words include predestination or foreordain, though predetermine emphasizes the act of determination and the timing rather than the belief about fate.

In practice, predetermine is used to describe decisions made before actions take place. For example, a contract may predetermine penalties for breach, or a project plan may predetermine milestones and acceptance criteria. In software and algorithm design, certain parameters may be set in advance to predetermine behavior under defined inputs, though such use should not imply inevitability.

In philosophy and theology, predetermination is a related concept that raises questions about free will and causality. Predestination is the doctrine that a deity has foreordained, in some systems of belief, the fate of individuals. The terms are related but distinct: predestination speaks to divine decree, while predetermination can be a secular notion about prior decision. In common usage, predetermine often connotes intentional planning rather than inevitability.

The word derives from the Latin prae- 'before' and determinare 'to determine.' It entered English in the late Middle Ages and remains relatively formal or technical in tone.