predominant

adjective

pre·​dom·​i·​nant pri-ˈdä-mə-nənt How to pronounce predominant (audio)
-ˈdäm-nənt
1
: having superior strength, influence, or authority : prevailing
2
: being most frequent or common

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Predominant vs. Predominate

Predominant and predominate are synonymous adjectives. Predominant is the older and much more common form. A number of handbooks and commentators hold predominate to be a mistake—a few insisting that the word is only a verb. But they are wrong. As an adjective predominate is somewhat more likely to turn up in technical writing than in general writing. The adverbs predominantly and predominately are a more even match in frequency than their base adjectives are, although predominantly is still significantly more common than predominately.

Choose the Right Synonym for predominant

dominant, predominant, paramount, preponderant mean superior to all others in influence or importance.

dominant applies to something that is uppermost because ruling or controlling.

a dominant social class

predominant applies to something that exerts, often temporarily, the most marked influence.

a predominant emotion

paramount implies supremacy in importance, rank, or jurisdiction.

unemployment was the paramount issue in the campaign

preponderant applies to an element or factor that outweighs all others in influence or effect.

preponderant evidence in her favor

Examples of predominant in a Sentence

Religion is the predominant theme of the play. She is predominant among new writers.
Recent Examples on the Web Trump ran especially well among parts of the Republican base that were predominant in the GOP electorate, including conservatives and White evangelicals. Jennifer De Pinto, CBS News, 24 Feb. 2024 And, to be sure, in the larger scheme of things, this troubled train of thought is not predominant. Oliver Darcy, CNN, 30 Jan. 2024 While the economy keeps growing and paychecks keep going up, the predominant perception stays stubbornly negative. Isaac Mizrahi, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024 Even the predominant way connections fail is different, says Fetzer. IEEE Spectrum, 21 Feb. 2024 Over the past half-century, America has gone from a country in which the predominant home buyer was a nuclear family with about three children to one in which singles, empty nesters and couples without children have become a much larger share of the population. Conor Dougherty, New York Times, 17 Feb. 2024 Many of Portugal’s decorative motifs include elements from battles, sea voyages, conquests, village life, and Catholicism, the country’s predominant religion. Christine Chitnis, Vogue, 6 Feb. 2024 Big deal Transformation and functional improvement are the predominant themes for finance chiefs this year, according to Gartner's survey of 185 CFOs. Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 29 Jan. 2024 Single-family houses are still vastly predominant, but at least for now contractors are putting up three- and four-story multifamily projects rather than new capes or ranches. Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 1 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'predominant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle French, from Medieval Latin praedominant-, praedominans, present participle of praedominari to predominate, from Latin prae- + dominari to rule, govern — more at dominate

First Known Use

1576, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of predominant was in 1576

Dictionary Entries Near predominant

Cite this Entry

“Predominant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/predominant. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

predominant

adjective
pre·​dom·​i·​nant pri-ˈdäm-ə-nənt How to pronounce predominant (audio)
: greater in importance, strength, influence, or authority : prevailing
the predominant color in a painting
predominantly adverb

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