Destiny Definition & Meaning | Britannica Dictionary (original) (raw)

1

[count]

:

what happens in the future

:

the things that someone or something will experience in the future

• They believed it was their destiny to be together.
• His parents believed that the priesthood was his destiny. [=that he would or should become a priest because fate or God intended it]
• The factory's closing shaped the destiny [=_fate_] of the entire town.
• She believes that people can choose/control their own destinies. [=that people can control what will happen to them]

2

[noncount]

:

a power that is believed to control what happens in the future

• She felt that destiny [=_fate_] had decided that she would one day be President.
• motivated by a sense of destiny

— see also manifest destiny