Ordain Meaning
/ɔɹˈdeɪn/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
verbTo prearrange unalterably.
verbTo decree.
Sentence Examples
The bishop's role includes the power to select, ordain, and supervise ministers.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The church council voted to ____ him as a minister after his long training.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The bishop will ____ three new priests at the cathedral ceremony next Sunday morning.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English ordeynen, from Old French ordiner, from Latin ordinare (“to order”), from ordo (“order”). Doublet of ordinate.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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?"
— 1733, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man. […], epistle I, London: […] J[ohn] Wilford, […], →OCLC, page 15, lines 248–251:
"On once more we swung, bumping uneasily along in the antique narrow-gauge coach, with gloomy woods and gathering night outside, shouts and songs (and quacks) inside—this was not at all the sort of train ordained by the logical strategists in Paris—then grinding to a stop at a mysterious halt which was no more than a nameboard in the pinewoods, without even a footpath leading to it, but nevertheless with a solitary passenger stolidly waiting."
— 1961 November, H. G. Ellison, P. G. Barlow, “Journey through France: Part One”, in Trains Illustrated, page 668:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The church council voted to ____ him as a minister after his long training.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The bishop will ____ three new priests at the cathedral ceremony next Sunday morning.