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ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Prevail

/pɹɪˈveɪl/ · verb

Meaning

(intransitive) To be superior in strength, dominance, influence, or frequency; to have or gain the advantage over others; to have the upper hand; to outnumber others..

Definitions by Sense

  1. (intransitive) To be superior in strength, dominance, influence, or frequency; to have or gain the advantage over others; to have the upper hand; to outnumber others.
  2. (intransitive) To triumph; to be victorious.
  3. (intransitive) To be current, widespread, or predominant; to have currency or prevalence.
  4. (intransitive, often with upon or on) To succeed in persuading or inducing.
  5. (transitive, obsolete) To avail.

Example Sentences

Red colour prevails in the Canadian flag.
Sunny skies will prevail across the Northeast.
And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
Liverpool created a host of chances and had a Joel Matip goal ruled out for a foul and offside in an incident-packed game that went right down to the wire before Jurgen Klopp's side prevailed.
There are a number of SCPs and tales that look at potential apocalypses, but rarely with such totality as SCP-2935, a parallel dimension in which death prevailed.
Zakharova also made light of Moore’s claims that Russia will not be able to regain momentum in the war after the MI6 chief said he was”optimistic”^([sic]) Ukraine would prevail against the Russian invasion.
In his day and age, such practices prevailed all over Europe.
I prevailed on him to wait.

Synonyms for prevail

Antonyms for prevail

Related Words

Word Forms

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

Practice and Learn More

Frequently Asked Questions

What does prevail mean?

Prevail means (intransitive) To be superior in strength, dominance, influence, or frequency; to have or gain the advantage over others; to have the upper hand; to outnumber others..

What is a synonym for prevail?

Common synonyms include hold, endure, run, obtain.

What is the opposite of prevail?

The opposite depends on the specific sense.

How do you use prevail in a sentence?

Red colour prevails in the Canadian flag.

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.