Synonyms

prevail

American

[pri-veyl] / prɪˈveɪl /

verb (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.

prevail British

/ prɪˈveɪl /

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

prevailer

noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

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.

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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.

In Monday’s decision, the Court found the government hadn’t proved it was likely to prevail against Cook.

From Barron's • Jun. 29, 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

Political economist Mancur Olson explained why these benefits are overlooked: Concentrated, tangible interests prevail over much larger diffuse ones.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 24, 2026

"May peace, respect and friendship prevail among all nations."

From BBC • Jun. 22, 2026

Despite the church’s objections, Kepler’s heliocentric system would prevail eventually, because Kepler was right and Aristotle was wrong.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023