- present participle of prevail.
prevailing
Americanadjective
-
prevailing winds.
- Synonyms:
- prevalent, dominant, preponderant
-
generally current.
the prevailing opinion.
- Synonyms:
- widespread, common
- Antonyms:
- rare
-
having superior power or influence.
-
- Synonyms:
- effective
adjective
-
generally accepted; widespread
the prevailing opinion
-
most frequent or conspicuous; predominant
the prevailing wind is from the north
Usage
What are other ways to say prevailing?
Something that is prevailing is generally current. What’s the difference between prevailing, current, and prevalent? Find out on Thesaurus.com.Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of prevailing
Explanation
Something that is prevalent or most common can be described as prevailing. The prevailing opinion in your family might be that your cousin Bob who sleeps in his closet is certifiably insane. The adjective prevailing comes from the Latin words prae, meaning before, and valere, meaning to be strong or have power. The English word maintains that sense of strength and predominance. If you live a couple of miles north of a pig farm, and the weatherman says that the prevailing winds will be from the south and gusty, it's probably a good day to keep your windows closed.
Vocabulary lists containing prevailing
Grade 10, List 3
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Metamorphosis
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On Your Mark, Get Set, Commence Your Life!
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"The prevailing view has been that long-term self-renewal in the blood system is primarily a property of the hematopoietic stem cells that can generate any type of blood or immune cell," said Ying.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
Yet the prevailing trend in long-dated yields clearly matters to long-term equity returns, said Jordan Rizzuto, managing partner and CIO at GammaRoad Capital Partners.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 11, 2026
I’ve walked into plenty of busy restaurants where the prevailing atmosphere suggested human error was the expectation rather than the exception, and a kiosk felt like a little gift.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026
The prevailing teaching method is to teach to the mean.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
That would have required many of the social forces of the time to have been different—including the prevailing belief that slavery was natural and right.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
