predominate
Americanverb (used without object)
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to be the stronger or leading element or force.
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to have numerical superiority or advantage.
The radicals predominate in the new legislature.
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to surpass others in authority or influence; be preeminent.
He predominated in the political scene.
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to have or exert controlling power (often followed byover ).
Good sense predominated over the impulse to fight.
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to appear more noticeable or imposing than something else.
Blues and greens predominated in the painting.
verb (used with object)
verb
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to have power, influence, or control
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(intr) to prevail or preponderate
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rare (tr) to dominate or have control over
adjective
Other Word Forms
- predominately adverb
- predominatingly adverb
- predomination noun
- predominator noun
Etymology
Origin of predominate
1585–95; < Medieval Latin praedominātus, past participle of praedominārī to predominate. See pre-, dominate
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.
Nigeria has a population of some 237 million people, split roughly between Muslims, who predominate in the north of the country, and Christians.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 2, 2025
It's deliberately very soft, and the idea behind introducing it was to try to generate more pit stops, and force teams away from the one-stop strategies that predominate in F1 at the moment.
From BBC • Sep. 23, 2025
The network effect has made RealPage the dominant player in the market at large, and especially so in cities and neighborhoods where big landlords predominate.
From Slate • Sep. 10, 2024
In the Black Church as a whole, male pastors predominate, though there’s no comprehensive gender breakdown.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 28, 2024
Even if the analysis is limited to felonies—thus excluding extremely minor crimes and misdemeanors—nonviolent offenses predominate.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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.
