prevalence
AmericanUsage
What does prevalence mean? Prevalence is the state or condition of being widespread or in general use or acceptance. Prevalence is the noun form of the adjective prevalent, meaning widespread, common, or extensive. In the context of medicine, prevalence refers to how widespread a disease is—specifically, the total number of cases in a population at a given time. Example: The prevalence of social media use among teens is often linked to the rise in mental health issues like anxiety.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of prevalence
First recorded in 1600–10; from French prévalence, from Latin praevalēntia, from praevalent-, stem of praevalēns (present participle of praevalēre “to be more able”) + -ia -y 3 ( def. ); see prevail ( def. )
Explanation
Prevalence means there is a lot of something. If you get a bad grade on a paper for having a prevalence of typos, you need to proofread your work more carefully. The word prevalence comes from the Latin praevalere, meaning "condition of being widespread or general." The word is often used to describe a phenomenon that is widespread in a community, like the prevalence of a disease across a country. Prevalence is another word for "commonness." If there's a prevalence of thefts in your neighborhood, that means the likelihood of your house getting robbed is pretty high.
Vocabulary lists containing prevalence
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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.
See Examples For:
The prevalence of dating apps and our ability to follow someone else’s every move on social media have zapped the honeymoon period’s lifespan.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
I’m more disturbed by the prevalence of subtle synthetic images: AI cooking videos, AI ads with robotic voice-overs, AI celebrity-wedding photos, AI political deepfakes…and the list goes on.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
Zhang attributes biking's popularity in the city to the prevalence of manufacturers, the rugged terrain, and bad traffic.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
Despite the condition's prevalence, many women can wait years until they have it officially confirmed.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
The lyrics retain images of early American life: the one-room schoolhouse, the rural environment, no industrial noise and automobiles, and the prevalence of animals.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
"Obviously poverty is likely to play an important role, but other countries with similar per capita incomes have lower prevalences of child stunting," said Doak.
From Reuters ● Feb. 4, 2013
Given a world without religious faith, in full social revolution, with possibilities of wealth and power dangled before every man's eyes—what can you expect but the prevalences of a more or less ferocious egoism?
From Our Friend the Charlatan by George Gissing
Definitions 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.
