dominant

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adjective

dom·i·nant ˈdä-mə-nənt

ˈdäm-nənt

Synonyms of dominant next

: commanding, controlling, or prevailing over all others

the dominant culture

: very important, powerful, or successful

a dominant theme

a dominant industry

the team's dominant performance

: overlooking and commanding from a superior position

a dominant hill

: of, relating to, or exerting ecological or genetic dominance

dominant genes

dominant and recessive traits

biology : being the one of a pair of bodily structures that is the more effective or predominant in action

dominant eye

used her dominant hand

dominantly adverb

dominant

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noun

music : the fifth tone of a major or minor scale (see scale entry 5 sense 1)

genetics : a character or factor that exerts genetic dominance (see dominance sense 1b)

ecology : any of one or more kinds of organism (such as a species) in an ecological community that exerts a controlling influence on the environment and thereby largely determines what other kinds of organisms are present

dominant conifers

sociology : an individual having a controlling, prevailing, or powerful position in a social hierarchy : a dominant (see dominant entry 1 sense 1) individual in a social hierarchy

Choose the Right Synonym for dominant

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

Example Sentences

Adjective The company is now dominant in its market. It is the dominant culture in the region. the dominant female of the pack

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Jokic will certainly avoid Ham’s clutches ahead of Game 1 on Tuesday, but that plan might be as good as any against a player who has been dominant all postseason. —

Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 16 May 2023 In some territories, local-language titles are even dominant over Hollywood releases. —

Patrick Frater, Variety, 12 May 2023 Pilots right-hander Peter Allegro mowed through the Oregon State lineup for five dominant innings, allowing just one hit and two walks to quiet a surging offense that entered the game batting .375 and averaging 9.3 runs per game in May. —

Joe Freeman, oregonlive, 10 May 2023 That was the most dominant span by a coach in the past 43 years with the exception of Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski (six Final Fours from 1988-94 including 1991-92 titles), who Crum beat in the '86 title game. —

C.l. Brown, The Courier-Journal, 9 May 2023 The dominant win comes a day after Glenelg (15-2) clinched the Howard County title in a 7-0 win over Mt. Hebron. —

Jacob Steinberg, Baltimore Sun, 5 May 2023 Ware, ninth in NFL history with 138.5 sacks, finished a 12-year career as one of the dominant pass rushers in his era. —

Chris Amaya, Dallas News, 3 May 2023 Embiid is a dominant force when healthy, averaging 33.1 points in 34.6 minutes during the regular season. —

Nicole Yang, BostonGlobe.com, 28 Apr. 2023 In the decades since—with Stroessner’s Colorado Party remaining the country’s dominant political force—the two nations have remained close. —

Clarisa Diaz, Quartz, 27 Apr. 2023

Noun

As a Solheim Cup veteran in addition to the International Crown, her background in group play and match play has guided Sweden’s dominant run through two days. —

Marisa Ingemi, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 May 2023 Second, UConn’s dominant on the glass, while Miami is below average. —

Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 27 Mar. 2023 Meanwhile, the options among single-varietal or Cab Franc–dominant blends from Napa, Sonoma and elsewhere around the globe are dizzying. —

Mike Desimone And Jeff Jenssen, Robb Report, 18 Mar. 2023 Gonsolin’s performance, a night after Clayton Kershaw’s return from the injured list, concluded a dominant through the rotation. —

Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2021 The various land uses include residential, commercial, industrial, traffic dominant, and background. —

Moorthy M Nair, Quartz, 27 Jan. 2023 Researchers at the National Center for Voice and Speech theorize that singing is a more right-hemisphere brain function, while speaking is more left-hemisphere dominant. —

Jim Sullivan, Discover Magazine, 23 July 2015 However, the drug was tested in unvaccinated people during the Delta variant surge, so the results could look different for people who take the pills now, with the Omicron variant dominant. —

Jen Christensen, CNN, 22 July 2022 Sunday’s blowout loss and last week’s stunning defeat to the Jets have erased all the goodwill coach Zac Taylor earned from a 5-2 start and a dominant over the Ravens. —

C.j. Doon, baltimoresun.com, 9 Nov. 2021 See More

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