prevail
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to be widespread or current; exist everywhere or generally.
Silence prevailed along the funeral route.
-
to appear or occur as the more important or frequent feature or element; predominate.
Green tints prevail in the upholstery.
- Synonyms:
- preponderate
-
to be or prove superior in strength, power, or influence (usually followed byover ).
They prevailed over their enemies in the battle.
- Synonyms:
- overcome
- Antonyms:
- lose
-
to succeed; become dominant; win out.
to wish that the right side might prevail.
-
to use persuasion or inducement successfully.
He prevailed upon us to accompany him.
verb
-
to prove superior; gain mastery
skill will prevail
-
to be or appear as the most important feature; be prevalent
-
to exist widely; be in force
-
to succeed in persuading or inducing
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
prevailsimple
-
prevailssimple
-
have prevailedperfect
-
has prevailedperfect
-
am prevailingprogressive
-
are prevailingprogressive
-
is prevailingprogressive
-
have been prevailingperfect progressive
-
has been prevailingperfect progressive
Past
-
prevailedsimple
-
had prevailedperfect
-
was prevailingprogressive
-
were prevailingprogressive
-
had been prevailingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of prevail
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English prevayllen “to grow very strong,” from Latin praevalēre “to be more able,” equivalent to prae- “before, in front” + valēre “to be strong”; see pre-, prevalent
Explanation
Prevail means to successfully persuade someone of something. If you were a Presidential advisor and you convinced him to make a National Day of Pet Appreciation, then you prevailed upon him to recognize pets. Prevail can be used for different kinds of success. If you prevail upon someone, you have influence on them. If you prevail over someone, you win. Say you’re a big fan of a losing team. You might cheer, “Despite all odds, we will prevail!” To use prevail, there has to be some kind of contest or conflict. That could be internal, like when you have a pile of homework to do, but your desire to play video games prevails over your discipline.
Vocabulary lists containing prevail
List 1
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"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 12–15
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"The Hill We Climb," by Amanda Gorman
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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:
Sabato said it remained to be seen which faction of the Democratic Party would prevail.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
As a teenager I started to sing on street corners and I noticed that my voice was naturally potent — it could prevail over the traffic and the street noises.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
"Oil prices are pulling back after Wednesday's sharp rally, indicating that markets still expect diplomacy to ultimately prevail and that any disruption to global energy supplies is likely to be limited."
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
While Congress did not guarantee that every one of those claims would prevail, it guaranteed a legal process for deciding them.
From Slate ● Jun. 26, 2026
There was an unusual understanding of himself, which was unlike anything I had ever met with in a lunatic; and he took it for granted that his reasons would prevail with others entirely sane.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
The genre is varied, the casts inevitably fine and justice almost always prevails.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
Taken together, the sculptures testify to the nearly impossible challenge of rendering beauty from stone, a lesson lost when the eyes go straight to David and hindsight bias prevails.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
"It's a conflict between national security and historical transparency, and the former often prevails in Switzerland."
From BBC ● May 15, 2026
And if Uthmeier prevails, adoptive parents across Florida could find their legal claim to their children suddenly open to challenge, potentially by the very birth parents who relinquished them, or by the state.
From Slate ● May 13, 2026
“If justice prevails, would experiencing Alan’s prejudice have been worth it?”
From "Black Brother, Black Brother" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
But the lower house's broader approach demanding social media platforms refuse new users under 15 and suspend accounts belonging to children under that age prevailed.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
But on Thursday, the so-called peace trade prevailed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
It’s worth remembering that “The Studio” won comedy series last year, and its co-creator, Seth Rogen, prevailed here.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
The machine may not have prevailed today, but it could next time.
From Slate ● Jun. 30, 2026
The evidence of this lay all about the court; dirt, dust, filth and general chaos prevailed.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
At Warner, by contrast, the prevailing sentiment among some employees is unease.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
The push to expand head count, at least modestly, is a reversal from the prevailing corporate messaging during much of the AI era.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
The prevailing theory suggested that blue cones formed in the center of the retina and later migrated outward.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 9, 2026
Strip away the mystique and the Greenspan put merely resembles a sensible response to prevailing economic conditions.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026
They lean with the prevailing winds and employ every fallacy of logic in order to editorialize harmoniously with popular prejudices.
From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin
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.
