Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pɹɪˈveɪl/
- Rhymes: -eɪl
- Hyphenation: pre‧vail
Verb
prevail (third-person singular simple present prevails, present participle prevailing, simple past and past participle prevailed)
- (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.
Red colour prevails in the Canadian flag.
2022 February 27, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 0-0 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport: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.
- (intransitive) To triumph; to be victorious.
2019 January 14, “Exploring the SCP Foundation: SCP-2935 - O, Death” (0:36 from the start), in The Exploring Series, archived from the original on 25 March 2023: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.
- (intransitive) To be current, widespread, or predominant; to have currency or prevalence.
In his day and age, such practices prevailed all over Europe.
- (intransitive) To succeed in persuading or inducing.
I prevailed on him to wait.
1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling:Jones began to be very importunate with the lady to unmask; and at length having prevailed, there appeared not Mrs Fitzpatrick, but the Lady Bellaston herself.
- (transitive, obsolete) To avail.
Translations
To be superior in strength, dominance, influence or frequency; to have or gain the advantage over others; to have the upper hand
- Albanian: ngadhënjej (sq)
- Arabic: يسود (yassod)
- Bulgarian: преодолявам (bg) (preodoljavam)
- Czech: převládat, převážit (cs) pf
- Dutch: overwinnen (nl), domineren (nl), zegevieren (nl),
- French: dominer (fr), prévaloir (fr), l’emporter (fr)
- German: die Vorherrschaft erringen (over über), sich durchsetzen (against gegen)
- Greek:
- Ancient: ἰσχύω (iskhúō)
- Italian: prevalere (it)
- Navajo: dah honiłné
- Occitan: prevaler (oc)
- Old English: rīcsian
- Portuguese: prevalecer (pt), predominar (pt)
- Romanian: impune (ro)
- Russian: восторжествовать (ru) (vostoržestvovatʹ), одержать победу (oderžatʹ pobedu), госпо́дствовать (ru) (gospódstvovatʹ), доминировать (ru) (dominirovatʹ)
- Sanskrit: सहते (sa) (sahate)
- Spanish: prevalecer (es), vencer (es)
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To be current, widespread or predominant; to have currency or prevalence
To succeed in persuading or inducing
References
- “prevail”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “prevail”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.