ˈdestənē, -ni noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English destinee, from Middle French, from Old French, from feminine of destiné (past participle of destiner ), from Latin destinatus
1. : that to which any person or thing is destined: as
a. : predetermined state : condition foreordained by divine will or by human will : unavoidable lot : fate , doom
reconciled to one's destiny
b. : culminating condition or end indicated as probable, inevitable, or having been reached : fortune , goal
manifest destiny
unhappy destiny
2.
a. : the predetermined course of events often conceived as a resistless power or agency : the foreordained future whether in general or of an individual
pursued by destiny
turn aside destiny
b. : continuing activity and functional behavior that tend to determine eventual status especially as to progress or decadence — usually used in plural
we could not tolerate control by a European power over the destiny of the former Spanish possessions
that a man should manage the destinies of a corporation while owning only a minute fraction of its stock — F.L.Allen
3. : a real or imaginary power or agency conceived as predetermining the course of events and choice of alternatives
our helplessness, at least with respect to those events over which Destiny presides — Lucius Garvin
the leader is simply the man whom destiny … has placed in such a position that he alone can assume the supreme leadership — Barbara & Robert North
a flash of Free Will, pure and simple, which instantly gives place … to the dominion of what we call Destiny — Joseph Furphy
Synonyms: see fate