prevail

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pre·vail

(prĭ-vāl′)

intr.v. pre·vailed, pre·vail·ing, pre·vails

1. To be greater in strength or influence; triumph: The home team prevailed against the visitors. Shouldn't the public interest prevail over an individual's?

2. To be most common or frequent; be predominant: a region where snow and ice prevail.

3. To be in force, use, or effect; be current: an ancient tradition that still prevails.

4. To use persuasion or inducement successfully. Often used with on, upon, or with. See Synonyms at persuade.

[Middle English prevailen, from Old French prevaloir, prevaill-, from Latin praevalēre, to be stronger : prae-, pre- + valēre, to be strong; see wal- in Indo-European roots.]

pre·vail′er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

prevail

(prɪˈveɪl)

vb (intr)

1. (often foll by: over 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 by: on or upon) to succeed in persuading or inducing

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

preˈvailer n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pre•vail

(prɪˈveɪl)

v.i.

1. to be widespread or current; exist generally.

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

3. to be or prove superior in strength, power, or influence (usu. fol. by over): to prevail over one's enemies.

4. to succeed; become dominant; win out.

5. to use persuasion or inducement successfully (usu. fol. by on or upon): Can you prevail on him to go?

[1350–1400; Middle English < Latin praevalēre=prae- pre- + valēre to be strong; compare prevalent]

pre•vail′er, n.

prevail

Past participle: prevailed
Gerund: prevailing

Imperative
prevail
prevail

Present
I prevail
you prevail
he/she/it prevails
we prevail
you prevail
they prevail

Preterite
I prevailed
you prevailed
he/she/it prevailed
we prevailed
you prevailed
they prevailed

Present Continuous
I am prevailing
you are prevailing
he/she/it is prevailing
we are prevailing
you are prevailing
they are prevailing

Present Perfect
I have prevailed
you have prevailed
he/she/it has prevailed
we have prevailed
you have prevailed
they have prevailed

Past Continuous
I was prevailing
you were prevailing
he/she/it was prevailing
we were prevailing
you were prevailing
they were prevailing

Past Perfect
I had prevailed
you had prevailed
he/she/it had prevailed
we had prevailed
you had prevailed
they had prevailed

Future
I will prevail
you will prevail
he/she/it will prevail
we will prevail
you will prevail
they will prevail

Future Perfect
I will have prevailed
you will have prevailed
he/she/it will have prevailed
we will have prevailed
you will have prevailed
they will have prevailed

Future Continuous
I will be prevailing
you will be prevailing
he/she/it will be prevailing
we will be prevailing
you will be prevailing
they will be prevailing

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been prevailing
you have been prevailing
he/she/it has been prevailing
we have been prevailing
you have been prevailing
they have been prevailing

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been prevailing
you will have been prevailing
he/she/it will have been prevailing
we will have been prevailing
you will have been prevailing
they will have been prevailing

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been prevailing
you had been prevailing
he/she/it had been prevailing
we had been prevailing
you had been prevailing
they had been prevailing

Conditional
I would prevail
you would prevail
he/she/it would prevail
we would prevail
you would prevail
they would prevail

Past Conditional
I would have prevailed
you would have prevailed
he/she/it would have prevailed
we would have prevailed
you would have prevailed
they would have prevailed

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Verb	1.	prevail - be larger in number, quantity, power, status or importance; "Money reigns supreme here"; "Hispanics predominate in this neighborhood" dominate, predominate, reign, rule override - prevail over; "health considerations override financial concerns" overarch - be central or dominant; "This scene overarches the entire first act" outbalance, overbalance, preponderate, outweigh - weigh more heavily; "these considerations outweigh our wishes"
	2.	prevail - be valid, applicable, or true; "This theory still holds" obtain, hold exist, be - have an existence, be extant; "Is there a God?"
	3.	prevail - continue to exist; "These stories die hard"; "The legend of Elvis endures" die hard, persist, endure, run continue - exist over a prolonged period of time; "The bad weather continued for two more weeks" carry over - transfer or persist from one stage or sphere of activity to another run - occur persistently; "Musical talent runs in the family" reverberate - have a long or continuing effect; "The discussions with my teacher reverberated throughout my adult life"
	4.	prevail - prove superior; "The champion prevailed, though it was a hard fight" triumph win - be the winner in a contest or competition; be victorious; "He won the Gold Medal in skating"; "Our home team won"; "Win the game"
	5.	prevail - use persuasion successfully; "He prevailed upon her to visit his parents" persuade - cause somebody to adopt a certain position, belief, or course of action; twist somebody's arm; "You can't persuade me to buy this ugly vase!"

prevail

verb

1. win, succeed, triumph, overcome, overrule, be victorious, carry the day, prove superior, gain mastery We hoped that common sense would prevail.

2. be widespread, abound, predominate, be current, be prevalent, preponderate, exist generally A similar situation prevails in America.

prevail on or upon someone persuade, influence, convince, prompt, win over, induce, incline, dispose, sway, talk into, bring round Do you think she can be prevailed upon to do it?

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

prevail

verb

To occupy the preeminent position in:

dominate, predominate, preponderate, reign, rule.

Idioms: have the ascendancy, reign supreme.

phrasal verb
prevail against or over

To win a victory over, as in battle or a competition:

beat, best, conquer, defeat, master, overcome, rout, subdue, subjugate, surmount, triumph over, vanquish, worst.

Informal: trim, whip.

Slang: ace, lick.

Idioms: carry the day, get the best of, get the better of, go someone one better.

phrasal verb
prevail on or upon

To succeed in causing (a person) to act in a certain way:

argue into, bring, bring around (or round), convince, get, induce, persuade, sell (on), talk into.

Translations

يَسود، يَعِم، يَنْتَشِريَنْتَصِر على، يَتَغَلَّب على

převládattrvatzvítězit

sejre

vorherrschen Oberhand gewinnen obwalten

επικρατώ

dominar imponerse predominar prevalecer reinar

avoir cours

sigravera ráîandi

prevalere trionfare convincere diffuso larga diffusione

paplitęspaplitimas

būt pārsvarāgūt virsrokuuzvarētvaldīt

seire være rådende være vanlig

predominar prevalecer

baskın çıkmakyaygın olmakyenmek

优胜普遍盛行胜过获胜

prevail

[prɪˈveɪl] VI

1. (= gain mastery) → prevalecer
finally good sense prevailed → por fin se impuso el buen sentido
eventually peace prevailed → al final se restableció la paz
to prevail against or over one's enemies → triunfar sobre los enemigos

2. (= be current) [views, opinions] → predominar; (= be in fashion) → estar de moda, estar en boga
the conditions that now prevail → las condiciones que ahora imperan

3. (= persuade) to prevail (up)on sb to do sth → convencer a algn para que haga algo
he was eventually prevailed upon to do it → por fin lograron convencerlo de que lo hiciera
she could not be prevailed upon → fue imposible persuadirla, no se convenció

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

prevail

[prɪˈveɪl] vi

(= triumph) [common sense, opinion, proposal] → prévaloir
In the end, common sense prevailed → À la fin, le bon sens a prévalu.
Rick still believes that justice will prevail → Rick croit toujours que la justice prévaudra.
to prevail over sth → prévaloir contre qch

(= exist, be common) [doctrine, situation, conditions, attitudes] → avoir cours
A similar situation prevails in America → Une situation similaire a cours en Amérique.

(= win) (in battle, contest, dispute) → s'imposer

prevail on

vt fus → persuader
to prevail on sb to do sth → persuader qn de faire qch
to prevail upon sb to do sth → persuader qn de faire qch

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

prevail

(= gain mastery) → sich durchsetzen (over, against gegenüber)

(conditions, wind etc) → vorherrschen; (= be widespread: customs) → weitverbreitet sein

(= persuade) to prevail (up)on somebody to do something → jdn dazu bewegen or bringen, etw zu tun

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

prevail

[prɪˈveɪl] vi

a. (gain mastery) to prevail (against, over) → prevalere (su)

b. (be current, fashion, belief) → essere diffuso/a
the conditions that prevail → le condizioni attuali

c. (persuade) to prevail (up)on sb to do sth → convincere qn a fare qc, persuadere qn a fare qc

prevail

(priˈveil) verb

1. (with over or against) to win or succeed. With God's help we shall prevail over sin and wickedness; Truth must prevail in the end.

2. to be most usual or common. This mistaken belief still prevails in some parts of the country.

preˈvailing adjective

1. most frequent. The prevailing winds are from the west.

2. common or widespread at the present time. the prevailing mood of discontent among young people.

prevalent (ˈprevələnt) adjective

common; widespread. Lung diseases used to be prevalent among miners.

prevalence (ˈprevələns) noun

prevail on/upon

to persuade. Can I prevail on you to stay for supper?

References in classic literature ?

An aristocracy seems most likely to confer the honours of the state on the virtuous; for virtue is the object of an aristocracy, riches of an oligarchy, and liberty of a democracy; for what is approved of by the majority will prevail in all or in each of these three different states; and that which seems good to most of those who compose the community will prevail: for what is called a state prevails in many communities, which aim at a mixture of rich and poor, riches and liberty: as for the rich, they are usually supposed to take the place of the worthy and honourable.

View in context

We spent the next night in the mountains, but when we should have set out in the morning, were obliged to a fierce dispute with the old Moor, who had not yet lost his inclination to destroy us; he would have had us taken a road which was full of those people we were so much afraid of: at length finding he could not prevail with us, that we charged the goods upon him as belonging to the Emperor, to whom he should be answerable for the loss of them, he consented, in a sullen way, to go with us.

None of us had any but a Moor, who could not be prevailed upon to part with it at less than the weight in gold; we got some from him at last, and endeavoured to revive the two servants, while part of us went to look for a guide that might put us in the right way.

View in context

It will be sufficient to remark, first, that for the reasons elsewhere assigned, it is less likely that any decided partiality should prevail in the councils of the Union than in those of any of its members.

View in context

In reality, Blifil had taken some pains to prevail with the parson, and to prevent the discovery at that time; for which he had many reasons.

View in context

The motherwomen seemed to prevail that summer at Grand Isle.

View in context

I soon discovered that both of them were perfect strangers to the rest of the company, and had never seen or heard of them before; and I had a whisper from a ghost who shall be nameless, "that these commentators always kept in the most distant quarters from their principals, in the lower world, through a consciousness of shame and guilt, because they had so horribly misrepresented the meaning of those authors to posterity." I introduced Didymus and Eustathius to Homer, and prevailed on him to treat them better than perhaps they deserved, for he soon found they wanted a genius to enter into the spirit of a poet.

View in context

Among the innumerable categories applicable to the phenomena of human life one may discriminate between those in which substance prevails and those in which form prevails.

View in context

ALL the Goods were once driven out by the Ills from that common share which they each had in the affairs of mankind; for the Ills by reason of their numbers had prevailed to possess the earth.

View in context

He bore with philosophy the conviction that Elizabeth must now become acquainted with whatever of his ingratitude and falsehood had before been unknown to her; and in spite of every thing, was not wholly without hope that Darcy might yet be prevailed on to make his fortune.

View in context

It was a hard trial of the courage and means of an individual to have to fit out another costly expedition, where so much had already been expended, so much uncertainty prevailed, and where the risk of loss was so greatly enhanced, that no insurance could be effected.

View in context

"Yes, my father can seldom be prevailed on to give the waters what I think a fair trial.