Definition of prevailing

Email this page to a friend

< prevail

Préval, René García >

pre·vail·ing    (pr-vlng) KEY 

ADJECTIVE:

1. Most frequent or common; predominant.
2. Generally current; widespread.

OTHER FORMS:
pre·vailing·ly(Adverb), pre·vailing·ness(Noun)

SYNONYMS:
prevailing, prevalent, current

These adjectives denote what exists or is encountered generally at a particular time. Prevailing applies to what is most frequent or common at a certain time or in a certain place: took a poll to find the prevailing opinion. Prevalent suggests widespread existence or occurrence but does not imply predominance: a belief that was prevalent in the Middle Ages. Current often stresses the present time and is frequently applied to what is subject to frequent change: current psychoanalytic theories.