PREVAILING Synonyms: 141 Similar and Opposite Words

prevailing 1 of 2

adjective

as in conventional

accepted, used, or practiced by most people the principal disagrees with the prevailing attitude toward corporal punishment

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in general

held by or applicable to a majority of the people the prevailing custom here is to leave one's doors unlocked

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prevailing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of prevail

as in winning

to achieve victory (as in a contest) we shall prevail despite the overwhelming odds

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in surviving

to continue to operate or to meet one's needs a custom that still prevails in many areas of Africa

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of prevailing

Adjective

The group noted the projection was revised upward from an earlier estimate owing to an additional year in the budget window and higher prevailing interest rates. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 2 Apr. 2026 Likewise, prevailing concepts of Hamlet at the time cast the prince as a wan and melancholic, leading critics to bristle at Bernhardt’s energy. — Betsy Golden Kellem, JSTOR Daily, 18 Mar. 2026 Harvesting seed nearby is a way to get plants that are genetically adapted to the prevailing environmental conditions and are more likely to thrive. — Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Jan. 2026 In the northern United States, enjoying the starry winter sky requires protection against the prevailing low temperatures. — Joe Rao, Space.com, 16 Jan. 2026 The monthly stochastic oscillator remains in overbought territory ( > 80%), underscoring the strength of the prevailing bullish trend rather than signaling exhaustion. — Katie Stockton, CNBC, 15 Dec. 2025 As municipal pools became mixed-gender in the 1920s and ’30s, swimming naked no longer fit prevailing notions of decency. — Jacob Beckert, The Atlantic, 13 Nov. 2025 Dissent is nothing more than the expression of an opinion that varies from the prevailing or traditional view or the position held by those in power. — Elizabeth Shackelford, Twin Cities, 26 Sep. 2025

Verb

The prevailing and most desirable silhouette in handbags is a slim east-west carried by a thin pencil line shoulder-length top handle. — Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026 In that span, the prevailing public narrative about Simmons shifted radically — from a guy zealously dedicated to rehabbing and the game itself to questions about his desire and dedication. — Kansas City Star, 12 Oct. 2026 In addition, these findings match up with a prevailing idea among archaeologists that early crop domestication was often a slow, multistage process taking place over thousands of years. — Ornob Alam, The Conversation, 12 Oct. 2026 Their painting style—Abstract Expressionism—with its revolutionary use of physical gesture, bold images, and rich painterly surfaces made a wide sweep of the then prevailing European Cubist esthetic. — Barbara Rose, Vogue, 11 Oct. 2026 Some also expect that the third-quarter earnings season will confirm that strong corporate fundamentals — not prevailing outside forces — will determine where stocks go next. — Sarah Min, CNBC, 6 Oct. 2026 El Niño is known to suppress Atlantic Basin tropical storm formation, so there could be some correlation in lack of Atlantic storms versus snow output, but that is likely due to the prevailing global wind pattern known as El Niño. — Ron Smiley, CBS News, 6 Oct. 2026 The prevailing memory from the game, though, will be Sullivan’s goal. — Felipe Cardenas, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026 An American had never been pope, and the prevailing conventional wisdom was that one never would be elected. — Scott Detrow, NPR, 3 Oct. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for prevailing

Adjective

On the contrary, airpower remains the most potent piece of the United States’ conventional forces, as well as its main source of both deterrent capacity and warfighting advantage against conventional aggression by hostile states.

— Justin Bronk, Foreign Affairs, 13 Oct. 2026
Alongside these are conventional effects plugins covering reverb, delay, chorus, compression, EQ, distortion/saturation, and pitch shifting.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of conventional

Adjective

There’s a distinction between general reasoning models, like LLMs, and the specialized AI biofoundation models like protein language models and protein structure prediction.

— Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2026
Prior to this, Asian artists largely had to compete in the best global music performance category or the broader general pop fields.

— Jeff Benjamin, Billboard, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of general

Verb

The bread-winning Global Banking & Markets division delivered strong results, which was very much behind the relatively positive reaction in the stock.

— Zev Fima, CNBC, 13 Oct. 2026
The decision backfired, as Rams kicker Harrison Mevis’s 48-yard game-winning field goal attempt was blocked by defensive end Greg Rousseau — much to the relief of Cook.

— Rohan Nadkarni, NBC news, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of winning

Verb

In the two years since Payne’s death, each surviving member has returned to making music.

— Jessica Lynch, Billboard, 17 Oct. 2026
Many who hadn’t lost a house couldn’t imagine surviving a grueling six-year fight with an insurance company for money and the city for permits — let alone twice.

— Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of surviving

Adjective

The Sagittarius Moon opposes Uranus, making a public responsibility, schedule, or household plan less predictable than usual.

— Tarot.com, Sun Sentinel, 14 Oct. 2026
This is Kerry’s usual spiel at the beginning of a season; historically, the bravado lets up over time.

— Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of usual

Adjective

Avoiding it in the first place makes far more sense, even if the K3's additional hardware and energy requirements complicate the question of its overall environmental footprint.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 17 Oct. 2026
The overall bargain, however, laid the foundation for what has become a highly successful deterrence, reassurance, and nonproliferation regime.

— Ivo H. Daalder, Foreign Affairs, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of overall

Verb

Later in the third, Baker led an 11-play, 66-yard drive lasting six-and-a-half minutes that ended with his 2-yard touchdown pass to Bockler.

— ABC News, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2026
Electrons move so quickly inside atoms and molecules that studying their behavior requires flashes of light lasting just a fraction of a billionth of a billionth of a second.

— Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of lasting

Adjective

The district also later reported that about 2,000 student assessment records had been posted, including those of 60 current students.

— Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026
The calves struggled against a current thick with floating clumps of river plants.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 17 Oct. 2026