prevailing
/pɹɪˈveɪ.lɪŋ/
prevailing adjective: predominant; of greatest force. Also the present participle and gerund of prevail.
Adjective
prevailing (comparative more prevailing, superlative most prevailing)
- Predominant; of greatest force.
- The prevailing opinion was for additional planning time.
- He has a Humour more prevailing than his Curioſity, and will willingly diſpence with the hearing of one ſcandalous Story, to avoid giving an occaſion to make another, by being ſeen to walk with his Wife.1700, [William] Congreve, The Way of the World, a Comedy. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, Act II, scene ii, pages 19–20
- Prevalent, common, widespread.
- Fever and dysentery are the most prevailing diseases in this division, more particularly the latter, which is one of the most destructive amongst the troops in India, and particularly so in the European constitution.1829, James Annesley, Sketches of the Most Prevalent Diseases of India, page 247
- One of the most prevailing defects in this people is their invincible indolence, and hatred of labour, which has, at all times, paralysed the government of their best princes, and impeded the success of their most brilliant enterprises.1832, David Brewster, “Spain”, in The Edinburgh Encyclopaedia, volume 17, page 371
- Synonyms:
- pervasive
Also used as
prevailing is also the present participle and gerund of prevail.
prevailing meaning in Marathi and Nepali
prevailing in Marathi
- प्रचलित
prevailing in Nepali
- प्रचलित
Examples of prevailing in a sentence
- I have heard generally that alderman Archer has a more prevailing and powerful influence in the commons than any other alderman, and exercises that influence;1826, House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons Papers, volume 17, page 411:
- In Sydney at 9 am, by far the most prevailing wind is a westerly, particularly during the colder two-thirds of the year.1940, Australian Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics, Official Year Book of the Commonwealth of Australia No. 33 - 1940, page 49:
- This world-wide travel organisation recently attained its centenary, and under happier conditions than those prevailing at the present time the event would doubtless have been celebrated worthily.1941 November, “Notes and News: The Centenary of Cook's”, in Railway Magazine, page 513:
Synonyms of prevailing
Forms of prevailing
| comparative | more prevailing |
|---|---|
| superlative | most prevailing |
| alternative form (obsolete) | prævailing |
| alternative form (obsolete) | prævaling |
Origin of prevailing
By surface analysis, prevail + -ing.
Words formed from prevailing
Phrases with prevailing
Words that rhyme with prevailing
Questions about prevailing
- What does prevailing mean?
- Prevailing means predominant; of greatest force.
- What is prevailing in Marathi?
- Prevailing in Marathi is प्रचलित. See Prevailing meaning in Marathi.
- How do you use prevailing in a sentence?
- I have heard generally that alderman Archer has a more prevailing and powerful influence in the commons than any other alderman, and exercises that influence;
- What part of speech is prevailing?
- Prevailing is an adjective.
- How do you pronounce prevailing?
- Prevailing is pronounced /pɹɪˈveɪ.lɪŋ/ (US).
Words near prevailing in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: prevailing (page history and authors); prevailing (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); prevailing (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-prevailing.ogg.
Cite this entry: “prevailing.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/prevailing. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.