Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Widely or commonly occurring, existing, accepted, or practiced. synonym: prevailing.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Of such a character as to prevail; superior in power or might; controlling; ruling.
- Influential; possessed of moral weight or authority.
- Effective; efficacious; productive of results, particularly of results desired.
- Wide-spread; current; of wide extent, occurrence, practice, or acceptance: as, a prevalent belief; a prevalent custom.
- Synonyms and Prevalent, Prevailing, Predominant, Ruling. Ruling in this connection refers to moral ascendancy: as, a ruling fashion set by a reigning belle. Prevalent and prevailing are sometimes the same, and in two senses, that of exceeding in strength, as the prevalent (or prevailing) opinion was against action, and that of existing widely, as scarlet fever is a prevalent (or prevailing) distemper. The habitual is more likely to be expressed by prevalent; the present or actual, sometimes the temporary, by prevailing: as, the prevailing fashion. The words are weaker and less exact than ruling; predominant is the strongest of all. Predominant implies activity, and actual or figurative effort after leadership on the part of that which is predominated over: as, a predominant faction; a predominant opinion is one that seems to put down all others.
- Common, Prevalent, etc. See
common .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Gaining advantage or superiority; having superior force, influence, or efficacy; prevailing; predominant; successful; victorious.
- adjective Most generally received or current; most widely adopted or practiced; also, generally or extensively existing; widespread; prevailing
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective
Widespread or preferred. - adjective
Superior ordominant .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective most frequent or common
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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“Complementary” is a term prevalent in England, and carries the implication that unconventional therapies can coexist side by side with mainstream medicine.
The Best Alternative Medicine Dr. Kenneth R. Pelletier 2000
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“Complementary” is a term prevalent in England, and carries the implication that unconventional therapies can coexist side by side with mainstream medicine.
The Best Alternative Medicine Dr. Kenneth R. Pelletier 2000
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How prevalent is social media (social networking sites, blogs, etc.)?
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How prevalent is social media (social networking sites, blogs, etc.)?
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However, one question that has become increasingly prevalent is whether the impending release of Grand Theft Auto IV (on April 29th), the fourth edition of Rockstar's incredibly successful hyper-violent game franchise, will have an impact on the performance of Iron Man (out in theaters on May 2nd).
Iron Man vs GTA IV: The Ultimate Summer Showdown? Think Again « FirstShowing.net 2008
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The most prevalent is the "thought, word, and deed" motif, but I've also found what appear to be alliterating triads (of anatomical features, interestingly) in at least one OE prayer.
Numbers everywhere Prof. de Breeze 2008
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When I used the word prevalent, I was using it to say that racism, as something that could possibly be quantified, is, in my experience, at similar levels than it has been over the last few decades.
"When the novelty of the first African American president wears off, the sight of Obama talking on television might have less impact..." Ann Althouse 2009
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She details a legend prevalent among anusim, a Hebrew word meaning "people who suffered forced baptism."
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She details a legend prevalent among anusim, a Hebrew word meaning "people who suffered forced baptism."
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In this latter capacity he has become, amongst other things, a sort of Jiminy Cricket or social conscience, pointing out the seamy side of certain prevalent business practices.
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