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
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.
Prevalence estimates are between 0.03% and 8% depending on the country, but it can be life-threatening.
From Salon • May 9, 2024
Prevalence in males and transgender people is often underestimated — and treatment in these groups is often delayed, too.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 10, 2023
"Prevalence is how we measure our work internally, and that's why we share the same metric externally," he added.
From BBC • Oct. 18, 2021
Prevalence for every adult age group was estimated below 1%.
From Reuters • Oct. 13, 2021
S Prevalence of, between Upper Canada and the state of New York, 106, 107.
From The Makers of Canada: Index and Dictionary of Canadian History by Various
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.
