predominant
Americanadjective
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having ascendancy, power, authority, or influence over others; preeminent.
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preponderant; prominent.
a predominant trait; the predominant color of a painting.
adjective
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having superiority in power, influence, etc, over others
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prevailing; prominent
Synonym Usage
See dominant.
Other Word Forms
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.
Vocabulary lists containing predominant
30 GRE Words Beginning with "P"
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"'Blaxicans' and Other Reinvented Americans," Vocabulary from the argument
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Essential English Vocabulary, List 3
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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 proposed change would remove standards that require teachers or aides to speak the predominant home language of their students.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
The UN has just called for the predominant world map to be replaced with one that more accurately reflects the true size of continents like Africa.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
The predominant theme explaining copper’s popularity is its new end-uses in the build-out of data centers as well as for electrification and decarbonization.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
“We’re seeing nationally less trust for vaccines than we did in the past, and that’s what most of us in epidemiology and public health think is the predominant reason for lack of vaccination,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
They are always completely calm, that is predominant in them; and even if they are not really calm, they become so.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
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.
