# ordained

/ɔɹˈdeɪnd/ (US) · /ɔːdˈeɪnd/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/ordained
Updated: 2026-08-08

## Senses

### 1. religious ministry

adjective · CEFR C1 · Formal

officially made a priest, minister, or religious leader.

For teachers: having been officially invested with ministerial or priestly functions. This sense is non-gradable.

- She became an ordained minister after three years of study.
- The newly ordained priest presided over his first mass in the village where he had grown up.

Usage: Usually appears before the noun or after a linking verb.

### 2. established by authority

adjective · CEFR C2 · Formal · Literary

decided or fixed by a powerful authority, law, or fate.

For teachers: established or prearranged by a superior authority, decree, or destiny.

- Some people believe their path in life is already ordained.
- The king insisted that his power was ordained by a higher law that no man could challenge.

Teaching tip: In modern contexts, this sense often carries a religious or fatalistic tone, suggesting that an event was 'meant to be'.

### 3. past action of ordaining

verb · CEFR C1 · Formal

the past tense of 'ordain' — to officially give someone religious status or to order that something happen.

For teachers: past tense and past participle of the transitive verb 'ordain', meaning to invest with ministerial functions or to decree authoritatively.

- The church ordained ten new bishops during the ceremony last night.
- The council ordained that all new buildings must meet strict safety standards to prevent future fires.

## Examples

- He is an ordained minister in the local church.
- After years of study and service, she was finally ordained as a priest in the cathedral.
- The ancient text suggests that the king's victory was not merely a result of strategy, but an ordained event written in the stars long before the battle began.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.