1
2
as in to order
to request the doing of by virtue of one's authority a new bill that would ordain the funding of public schools through state lottery revenues

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

3
as in to enact
to put into effect through legislative or authoritative action the founders of the African republic ordained a form of government that was closely modeled on that of the United States

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ordain By obtaining a minister license, the Oscar winner can now be ordained in the future. Zack Sharf, Variety, 23 Dec. 2024 Russell Thaw, a close friend of the couple, who was ordained by Universal Life Church for the occasion, officiated. Shivani Vora, New York Times, 27 Dec. 2024 During the ceremony, Denzel was also presented with a minister license so that he can be ordained in the future. Andy Biggs, Newsweek, 24 Dec. 2024 On Saturday, the Gladiator II star was baptized, receiving a certificate of baptism, as well as a minister’s license, meaning that he can later get ordained. Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 22 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for ordain 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ordain
Verb
  • With you as parents, this baby is destined to be amazing (and very, very loved).
    Anna Moeslein, Parents, 21 Jan. 2025
  • And as such, is it destined to get a season 2 itself?
    Paul Tassi, Forbes, 18 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • He was given probation and ordered to attend 52 weeks of a domestic violence intervention program.
    Jessica Wang, EW.com, 29 Jan. 2025
  • Netflix has ordered a Little House on the Prairie series, 40-plus years after a long-running adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s beloved books aired its last episode on NBC.
    Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • At least eight states — California, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia — have enacted measures banning or restricting students’ use of cellphones in schools.
    Andrew Demillo, The Denver Post, 25 Jan. 2025
  • If the two hosts win this weekend, the Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles will enact a second take of Super Bowl LVII.
    Jeff Howe, The Athletic, 24 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • Under the old system, those L's might have doomed both teams' title hopes.
    Becky Sullivan, NPR, 20 Jan. 2025
  • But a slump could doom Philadelphia and send them to an early season exit.
    Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 17 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • Many visitors will seek out her section near the T-Mobile entrance gate by Lot M, and co-workers have requested to work directly with her.
    Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 25 Jan. 2025
  • The program enabled 1,450 people a day to schedule appointments at a port of entry to request asylum.
    Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 24 Jan. 2025
Verb
  • On Thursday, the House passed the Fix Our Forests Act, a bipartisan measure that's intended to help prevent catastrophic wildfires and provide proper forest management as California continues.
    Ivan Pereira, ABC News, 24 Jan. 2025
  • In the computer science world, this means that many AI have already passed the Turing test.
    Zain Jaffer, Rolling Stone, 24 Jan. 2025

Thesaurus Entries Near ordain

Cite this Entry

“Ordain.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ordain. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on ordain

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!