prevail

[ pri-veyl ]

verb (used without object)

1. to be widespread or current; exist everywhere or generally:

   Silence prevailed along the funeral route.

2. to appear or occur as the more important or frequent feature or element; predominate:

   Green tints prevail in the upholstery.

   Synonyms: preponderate

3. to be or prove superior in strength, power, or influence (usually followed by over ):

   They prevailed over their enemies in the battle.

   Synonyms: overcome

   Antonyms: lose

4. to succeed; become dominant; win out:

   to wish that the right side might prevail.

5. to use persuasion or inducement successfully:

   He prevailed upon us to accompany him.

prevail

/ prɪˈveɪl /

verb

1. often foll byover or against to prove superior; gain mastery

   skill will prevail

2. to be or appear as the most important feature; be prevalent
3. to exist widely; be in force
4. often foll byon or upon to succeed in persuading or inducing

Derived Forms

• preˈvailer, noun

Other Words From

• pre·vailer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of prevail¹

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”; pre-, prevalent

Word History and Origins

Origin of prevail¹

C14: from Latin praevalēre to be superior in strength, from prae beyond + valēre to be strong

Example Sentences

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Trump prevailed despite a significant gender gap between female and male voters, with Trump’s opponents expressing deep distress over his victory while his supporters publicly gloated about those same people's pain.

From Salon

They include John Healey, the British defence secretary, who said he expected the US "to remain alongside allies like the UK, standing with Ukraine for as long as it takes to prevail over Putin's invasion".

From BBC

In seven of the 10 states where abortion rights measures were on the ballot, they prevailed.

From Los Angeles Times

“But ultimately the federal law and federal Constitution prevail, because that's how it works.”

From Salon

Germany's president has called for "reason and responsibility" to prevail, but this was a coalition collapse that was months in the making.

From BBC

Related Words

• abound
• beat
• overcome
• prove
• reign
• succeed
• triumph
• win