• (GA) IPA: /ɔɹˈdeɪn/
• (RP) IPA: /ɔːˈdeɪn/

ordain (ordains, present participle ordaining; past ordained, past participle ordained)

1. To prearrange unalterably.
   • 1733, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man. […], epistle I, London: Printed for J[ohn] Wilford, […], OCLC 960856019 ↗, lines 248–251, page 15 ↗:

     What if the Foot, ordain'd the duſt to tread, / Or Hand, to toil, aſpir'd to be the Head? / What if the Head, the Eye, or Ear repin'd / To ſerve mere Engines to the ruling Mind?

2. To decree.
3. To admit into the ministry of a religion, for example as a priest, bishop, minister or Buddhist monk, or to authorize as a rabbi.
4. To predestine.

Conjugation of ordain

infinitive	(to) ordain
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	ordain	ordained
2nd-person singular	* ordain, ordainest*	ordained, ordainedst*
3rd-person singular	ordains, ordaineth#English|ordaineth*	ordained#English|ordained
plural	ordain
subjunctive	ordain
imperative	ordain	—
participle> participles	ordaining	ordained
* Archaic or obsolete.

Synonyms

• foresay

Related terms

• order

Translations

• German: festlegen

Translations

• German: weihen
• Russian: рукополагать

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