destiny
noun
Simple meaning
One's eventual fate.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
dehstuhneeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈdɛstəni
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
One's eventual fate (not necessarily inevitable or predestined).
That to which any person or thing is destined; a predetermined state; a condition predestined by the Divine or by human will.
That which is inevitable in the fullness of time.
The fixed order of things; invincible necessity; an irresistible power or agency conceived of as determining the future, whether in general or of an individual.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: One's eventual fate (not necessarily inevitable or predestined).
Used this way, destiny is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use destiny
- “We are helpless in the face of destiny.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
The place designated as the end (as of a race or journey).
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A crease on the palm.
A policy of imperialism rationalized as inevitable (as if granted by God).
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: one's eventual fate (not necessarily inevitable or predestined)
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.