Destined

How to spell destined

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce destined

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does destined mean?

1. adjectiveCertain or bound to happen or to reach a particular end, as if by fate.

Destined in a sentence

• The underfunded project seemed destined to fail from the outset.

• She felt destined for a career in medicine long before university.

Where does destined come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb destinare, which meant to make firm, to fix in place, or to settle something definitely; it was built from the prefix de-, here adding a sense of completeness, on a root tied to the idea of standing fast (the same family that gives us 'stand' and 'stable'). In Latin the word came to mean to determine or appoint beforehand, which is exactly the flavour of fate it still carries. English borrowed it through Old French 'destiner' in the 1300s, and the closely related noun 'destiny' arrived alongside it. The same root also sits inside 'destination', the fixed point one is heading toward. For spelling, it helps to remember the buried 'destine' inside it: the troublesome unstressed middle is 'stin', not 'sten', echoing destiny and destination.

How the word is built

• de- (down, completely)
• stin (from Latin destinare: to make firm, establish, determine)
• -ed (past participle / adjective suffix)