Definition of predominant
1 : having superior strength, influence, or authority : prevailing
2 : being most frequent or common
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Examples of predominant in a Sentence
Religion is the predominant theme of the play.
She is predominant among new writers.
Recent Examples of predominant from the Web
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For anglers plying the upper Niagara and Lake Erie, the predominant sportfish are smallmouth bass, walleye and muskellunge.
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The jubilant 3,000 or so alums who gathered at the college to watch the results come in were somber by the end of the night, stunned by the realization that the wider world that doesn’t align with the predominant reality at Wellesley.
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A strong cast, notable for its predominant use of Americans, includes Eric Owens and Jamie Barton.
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The Supreme Court ruled Monday that race can be a factor, but not the predominant one, when states draw maps for legislative districts.
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The U.S. Navy is the predominant customer for the F-35C, Aboulafia said.
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The military advance is complicated by the predominant role played by Kurdish militia members, who make up a majority of the 45,000 fighters and are the most effective American partner against the Islamic State in Syria.
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The monetary policies enacted by the world’s leading central banks are a predominant mechanism for doling out differential financial rewards—exacerbating income inequality in the process.
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When Foos claims to have witnessed a murder, his predominant concern is whether reporting this crime would expose his voyeurism.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'predominant'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
predominant vs. predominate
Something predominant stands out above all the rest. The predominant theme in an essay is the one that predominates—the main idea that the writer wants to express. (Notice the difference between the adjective and the verb; be sure not to spell the adjective with an -ate ending.) The word is widely used in many fields. For example, the predominant language of Switzerland is German; the predominant cause of obesity in children is a bad diet; and your predominant reason for wanting a larger vocabulary may be to simply be a better-educated person—though the positive effects of a large vocabulary on one's romantic life are well known.
Origin and Etymology of predominant
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
Synonym Discussion of predominant
PREDOMINANT Defined for English Language Learners
predominant
playDefinition of predominant for English Language Learners
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: more important, powerful, successful, or noticeable than other people or things
PREDOMINANT Defined for Kids
predominant
playDefinition of predominant for Students
: greater than others in number, frequency, strength, influence, or authority a predominant view the predominant flavors
Learn More about predominant
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See words that rhyme with predominant Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for predominant Spanish Central: Translation of predominant Nglish: Translation of predominant for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of predominant for Arabic speakers
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