predominant

American  

[pri-dom-uh-nuhnt] / prɪˈdɒm ə nənt /

adjective

1. having ascendancy, power, authority, or influence over others; preeminent.

2. preponderant; prominent.

   a predominant trait; the predominant color of a painting.

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predominant British  

/ prɪˈdɒmɪnənt /

adjective

1. having superiority in power, influence, etc, over others

2. prevailing; prominent

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Synonym Usage

See dominant.

Other Word Forms

• predominance
  noun
• predominantly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of predominant

1570–80; < Medieval Latin praedominant- (stem of praedomināns ), present participle of praedominārī to predominate. See pre-, dominant

Explanation

If you’re talking about the most popular or common thing, call it predominant. If the predominant feeling in a neighborhood is that pizza is the best food, the result might be pizzerias being the predominant type of restaurant there. The adjective predominant describes a person or thing with great power or influence, or something that is prevalent. It comes from the Latin prefix prae-, “before,” and dominari, “to rule.” For example, because so many people like hip-hop, it might be the predominant music heard at a school dance. And that neighborhood with all the pizzerias? Teenagers are the predominant customers, and pepperoni is the predominant topping.

Related Words

• dominant
• dominating
• main
• potent
• prevailing
• prevalent
• weighty