preponderant

adjective

pre·​pon·​der·​ant pri-ˈpän-d(ə-)rənt How to pronounce preponderant (audio)
1
: having superior weight, force, or influence
2
: having greater prevalence
preponderantly adverb
Choose the Right Synonym for preponderant

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 preponderant in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web With preponderant influence in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen, Iran is the regional power that has best been able to take advantage of the crisis in the Middle East. F. Gregory Gause Iii, Foreign Affairs, 22 Feb. 2022 Or, even preponderant effect, seeing as how there will be dilution of the genetic signal along the wave of advance. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 19 Jan. 2010 In some regions, obviously Europe itself, but in much of North America, southern South America, parts of southern Africa, and Australia and New Zealand, people of European descent became demographically preponderant. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 3 Jan. 2012 The relevance and recent growth of regional Mexican music has become undeniable, and today, the genre holds a preponderant place within the industry. Tere Aguilera, Billboard, 16 Mar. 2023 But last week in PLoS ONE a paper looking at the patterns of ancestry in the Brazilian population came to a somewhat inverseconclusion as to the self-conception or perception of the preponderant racial identity of that nation. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 25 Feb. 2011 Our prior expectation should be that the admixture is non-trivial, though not preponderant. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 23 Apr. 2012 The authors have no explanation for the apparent lack of awareness for this widely preponderant syndrome and its severe cosmetically disfiguring potential. Ncbi Rofl, Discover Magazine, 12 Feb. 2013 Under federal law, race cannot be a preponderant motive in drawing a district, wrote Dr. Cervas, a fellow at Carnegie Mellon University. Jimmy Vielkind and Eliza Collins, WSJ, 21 May 2022

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

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of preponderant was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near preponderant

Cite this Entry

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

Kids Definition

preponderant

adjective
pre·​pon·​der·​ant pri-ˈpän-d(ə-)rənt How to pronounce preponderant (audio)
1
: having greater weight, force, or influence : predominant
2
: having greater frequency
preponderantly adverb

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