Definitions for prevail
prɪˈveɪlpre·vail

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. predominate, dominate, rule, reign, prevailverb

   be larger in number, quantity, power, status or importance

   "Money reigns supreme here"; "Hispanics predominate in this neighborhood"

2. prevail, hold, obtainverb

   be valid, applicable, or true

   "This theory still holds"

3. prevail, persist, die hard, run, endureverb

   continue to exist

   "These stories die hard"; "The legend of Elvis endures"

4. prevail, triumphverb

   prove superior

   "The champion prevailed, though it was a hard fight"

5. prevailverb

   use persuasion successfully

   "He prevailed upon her to visit his parents"

WiktionaryRate this definition:3.0 / 2 votes

1. prevailverb

   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.

   Red colour prevails in the Canadian flag.

2. prevailverb

   To be current, widespread or predominant; to have currency or prevalence.

   In his day and age, such practices prevailed all over Europe.

3. prevailverb

   To succeed in persuading or inducing.

   I prevailed on him to wait.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. To PREVAILverb

   Etymology: prevaloir, Fr. prævalere, Lat.

   1. To be in force; to have effect; to have power; to have influence.

   This custom makes the short-sighted bigots, and the warrier scepticks, as far as it prevails. John Locke.

   2. To overcome; to gain the superiority. With on or upon, sometimes over or against.

   They that were your enemies, are his,
   And have prevail’d as much on him as you. William Shakespeare.

   Nor is it hard for thee to preserve me amidst the unjust hatred and jealousness of too many, which thou hast suffered to prevail upon me. Charles I .

   I told you then he should prevail, and speed
   On his bad errand. John Milton.

   The millenium prevailed long against the truth upon the strength of authority. Decay of Piety.

   While Malbro’s cannon thus prevails by land,
   Britain’s sea-chiefs by Anna’s high command,
   Resistless o’er the Thuscan billows ride. Richard Blackmore.

   Thus song could prevail
   O’er death and o’er hell,
   A conquest how hard and how glorious;
   Though fate had fast bound her
   With Styx nine times round her,
   Yet musick and love were victorious. Alexander Pope.

   This kingdom could never prevail against the united power of England. Jonathan Swift.

   3. To gain influence; to operate effectually.4. To persuade or induce by entreaty. It has with, upon or on before the person persuaded.

   With minds obdurate nothing prevaileth, as well they that preach, as they that read unto such, shall still have cause to complain with the prophets of old, who will give credit unto our teaching? Richard Hooker, b. v. s. 22.

   He was prevailed with to restrain the earl of Bristol upon his first arrival. Edward Hyde.

   The serpent with me
   Persuasively have so prevail’d, that I
   Have also tasted. John Milton.

   They are more in danger to go out of the way, who are marching under the conduct of a guide, that it is an hundred to one will mislead them, than he that has not yet taken a step, and is likelier to be prevailed on to enquire after the right way. John Locke.

   There are four sorts of arguments that men, in their reasonings with others, make use of to prevail on them. John Locke.

   The gods pray
   He would resume the conduct of the day,
   Nor let the world be lost in endless night;
   Prevail’d upon at last, again he took
   The harness’d steeds, that still with horror shook. Addis.

   Upon assurances of revolt, the queen was prevailed with to send her forces upon that expedition. Jonathan Swift.

   Prevail upon some judicious friend to be your constant hearer, and allow him the utmost freedom. Jonathan Swift.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. prevail

   To prevail means to succeed or be victorious in a particular situation or conflict. It implies overcoming obstacles, opposition, or challenges in order to achieve a desired outcome or to establish one's dominance or authority.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:2.0 / 1 vote

1. Prevailverb

   to overcome; to gain the victory or superiority; to gain the advantage; to have the upper hand, or the mastery; to succeed; -- sometimes with over or against

2. Prevailverb

   to be in force; to have effect, power, or influence; to be predominant; to have currency or prevalence; to obtain; as, the practice prevails this day

3. Prevailverb

   to persuade or induce; -- with on, upon, or with; as, I prevailedon him to wait

4. Etymology: [F. prvaloir, OF. prevaleir, L. praevalere; prae before + valere to be strong, able, or worth. See Valiant.]

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Prevail

   Kiley Hendricks, better known by stage name Prevail, is a 4-time Juno Award winning Canadian hip hop artist raised in Victoria, British Columbia and based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Prevail is part of platinum-selling Swollen Members, which consists principally of himself and Mad Child. They have been called "two of the most innovative people in hip-hop". Aside from his extensive catalog with Swollen Members, Prevail released a side project entitled Code Name Scorpion with Abstract Rude and Moka Only in 2001, his first solo EP Baseball Bat and Nails in 2009, and a second solo EP with Ol' City Rocker titled Spasefase in 2012.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Prevail

   prē-vāl′, v.i. to be very powerful: to gain the victory: to have the upper hand: to have greater influence or effect: to overcome: to be in force: to succeed.—v.t. (obs.) avail.—adj. Prevail′ing, having great power: controlling: bringing about results: very general or common.—adv. Prevail′ingly.—ns. Prevail′ment (Shak.), prevalence; Prev′alence, Prev′alency, the state of being prevalent or wide-spread: superior strength or influence: preponderance: efficacy.—adj. Prev′alent, prevailing: having great power: victorious: wide-spread: most common.—adv. Prev′alently. [Fr. prévaloir—L. prævalēre—præ, before, valēre, to be powerful.]

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. prevail

   Song lyrics by prevail -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by prevail on the Lyrics.com website.

Matched Categories

1. • Exist
   • Persuade
   • Win

British National Corpus

1. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'prevail' in Verbs Frequency: #998

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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How to pronounce prevail?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say prevail in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of prevail in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of prevail in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of prevail in a Sentence

1. Zac Posen:

   I ’m very upset with the state of affairs right now, i always try to be optimistic. I think that freedom will prevail. And I don’t dictate who buys my clothing in a store.

2. Nirel Patel:

   Common sense is what needs to prevail here, we're now 14 months, almost going on 15 months, into this pandemic. Science is there, we know what this virus is capable of, we know the precautions we need to take, we know that the most vulnerable in our societies need to be taken care of, and politics sometimes doesn't take that into consideration. Politics sometimes looks at it and says, 'Well, what benefits me the most?'I don't play by politics. I play by common sense.

3. Stella Moris:

   I hope the courts will end this nightmare, that Julian is able to come home soon and that wise heads prevail.

4. Stefan Worrall:

   In U.S. dollar terms, Japan is significantly underperforming versus the U.S. and some of that may have to do with the fact that it's the end of a financial year and the end of a financial quarter that has been particularly harrowing, so much money in Japan is institutional and for that reason institutional frames of mind prevail, which can cause things to slow down at certain times of year.

5. Justin Trudeau:

   We have to believe that at some point, common sense will prevail, unfortunately, the actions taken today by the American government do not seem to be headed in that direction.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=prevail
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Prevail
3. ^ Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
   https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/views/search.php?term=prevail
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prevail
6. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=prevail
7. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=prevail
8. ^ Usage in printed sources
   https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=prevail