destiny

UK: /ˈdɛstɪni/ US: /ˈdɛstəni/ ,(des′tə nē)

Inflections of 'destiny' (n): npl: destinies

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

des•ti•ny /ˈdɛstəni/   n., pl. -nies. 

1. [count;
   often singular] something that is to happen or that has happened;
   one's future or fortune:
   Her destiny was to be a surgeon.
2. the course of events thought of as being unavoidable, impossible to resist, and decided in advance;
   fate:
   [uncountable] It's pure destiny that we met!

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

des•ti•ny  (des′tə nē), n., pl. -nies. 

1. something that is to happen or has happened to a particular person or thing;
   lot or fortune.
2. the predetermined, usually inevitable or irresistible, course of events.
3. the power or agency that determines the course of events.
4. Mythology (cap.) this power personified or represented as a goddess.
5. Mythology the Destinies, the Fates.

• Latin dēstināta, feminine past participle of dēstināre. See destine, -ee
• Old French (noun, nominal use of past participle of destiner)
• Middle English destinee 1275–1325

Synonyms

• 1. fate, karma, kismet.
• 2. future. See fate. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

destiny / ˈdɛstɪnɪ/ noun ( -nies)

1. the future destined for a person or thing; fate; fortune; lot
2. the predetermined or inevitable course of events
3. the ultimate power or agency that predetermines the course of events

Etymology: 14th Century: from Old French destinee, from destiner to destine