prevalence

noun prev·a·lence \ ˈpre-və-lən(t)s , ˈprev-lən(t)s \

|Updated on: 8 Jun 2018

Examples: prevalence in a Sentence

Definition of prevalence

1 : the quality or state of being prevalent

2 : the degree to which something is prevalent; especially : the percentage of a population that is affected with a particular disease at a given time

See prevalence defined for kids

Examples of prevalence in a Sentence

the prevalence of rumors when hard information is withheld from the public

Recent Examples of prevalence from the Web

According to 2014 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, autism has a prevalence rate of one in 59 among 8-year-olds in 11 states surveyed, a 15 percent increase from 2012.

— rita giordano, Philly.com, "For some children with autism, stopping seizures may aid brain development," 31 May 2018
One half of the sample was randomly assigned a question with four items, with varying levels of prevalence, while the other half of the sample is assigned the same question but with five possible items.

— dana el kurd, Washington Post, "On Israel’s 70th anniversary, what does the region think?," 15 May 2018
To determine the youth prevalence rate, his team called more than 5,000 households in the greater Chicago area.

— megan doherty, Chicago Reader, "ME myalgic encephalomyelitis chronic fatigue syndrome CFS Millions Missing Depaul University CDC," 10 May 2018
And experts disagreed on whether the DSM-5’s more stringent diagnostic criteria would block services for those with milder traits or adequately curb surging prevalence rates.

— lina zeldovich, Science | AAAS, "Cold parenting? Childhood schizophrenia? How the diagnosis of autism has evolved over time," 9 May 2018
Many of the deaths involved fentanyl, a synthetic opioid many times stronger than heroin that continues to grow in prevalence.

— nicholas rondinone, Courant Community, "Town Of Enfield Plans To Sue Opioid Manufacturers," 8 May 2018
Yet on the heels of backlash erupting over two black men being forcibly removed from a Philadelphia Starbucks last month, Martin believes his encounter serves as another reminder of the prevalence of racial profiling.

— shayna freisleben, CBS News, "Black former White House staffer was moving into new apartment when someone called police," 3 May 2018
These studies have shown a consistent range of autism prevalence across different populations, researchers and countries.

— ari ne'eman, Vox, "The CDC just announced 1 in 59 children are autistic. Here’s why that’s not evidence of an epidemic.," 28 Apr. 2018
Nearly a third of the country’s population lives in extreme poverty, and about as many are infected with H.I.V., one of the world’s highest prevalence rates for the virus.

— sewell chan, New York Times, "Swaziland’s King Wants His Country to Be Called eSwatini," 19 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'prevalence.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.