ordained

American  

[awr-deynd] / ɔrˈdeɪnd /

adjective

1. having been invested with ministerial, priestly, or rabbinical functions.

   Today’s lecturer is an ordained rabbi and a Talmudic scholar.

2. having been decreed, appointed, or formally established by some authority.

   If questioned, I will invoke my constitutionally ordained right to avoid incriminating myself.

3. having been destined or predestined.

   Cortez believed himself the ordained conqueror of the Aztec Empire.

---

noun

1. Usually the ordained a person or persons who have been invested with ministerial, priestly, or rabbinical functions, or the category of those so invested.

   Christian leaders, especially the ordained, are expected to reflect and model the faith which they profess and teach.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of ordain.

Usage

What does ordained mean? Ordained is an adjective that means having gained official status as a priest, minister, or other religious authority through a sanctioned process. Ordained is also the past tense of the verb ordain, meaning to invest someone with such authority. It has several other more general meanings, including to order, command, decree, or destine. The process or ceremony in which a priest or minister is ordained is called ordination. Example: Only an ordained minister can perform the ceremony.

Other Word Forms

• self-ordained adjective
• unordained adjective

Etymology

Origin of ordained

ordain ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Explanation

Ordained means invested with the authority to act as a priest. Once you are ordained as a priest, you are ready to take over that little country church and start tending to the flock. Ordained comes from the root meaning "order," and when you are ordained, you're brought into the religious order, or group of church leaders. We also use ordained for declarations. If it has been ordained that all people must now wear plastic birds in their hair, then that new fashion command has been declared by an authority. Sometimes people talk about fate as "what has been ordained."

Example Sentences

“I don’t understand how as a pastor, he thinks that that’s acceptable,” Levy Armstrong, also an ordained reverend, said in a Washington Post interview Monday.

From Salon • Jan. 20, 2026

Tucked into his speech was a mention of the 19th Century doctrine of "manifest destiny" – the idea that the US was divinely ordained to expand its territory across the continent, spreading American ideals.

From BBC • Jan. 20, 2026

He says, “I’ve said nothing new that I have not said in 35 years of ordained ministry.”

From Slate • Jan. 15, 2026

"I had a wonderful letter from an ordained woman who said the announcement of my appointment was the first time that she felt affirmed as a priest," she told BBC Radio 4.

From BBC • Dec. 31, 2025

Then another joined her and another, and soon the entire Scythedom was on their feet, in an ovation for the newly ordained Scythe Anastasia.

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman

Related Words

• appointed