prevail
pre·vail/pɹɪˈveɪl/verb
prevail is spelled P-R-E-V-A-I-L: 7 letters and 2 syllables (pre·vail). It appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 13,897th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, prevail means “To be superior in strength, dominance, influence, or frequency; to have or gain the advantage over others; to have the upper hand; to outnumber others” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in prevail?
| Letters | 7: P-R-E-V-A-I-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: pre·vail |
| In writing | 3.5 times per million words; the 13,897th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is prevail?
Prevail appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 13,897th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce prevail?
- US /pɹɪˈveɪl/
- Australia /pɹɪˈvæɪl/
- /pɹəˈvæɪl/
Prevail has 2 syllables, split pre·vail in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-prevail.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with prevail?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as prevail from its last stressed vowel (/eɪl/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of prevail
- prevails present, singular, he/she/it
- prevailing participle, present
- prevailed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does prevail mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To be superior in strength, dominance, influence, or frequency; to have or gain the advantage over others; to have the upper hand; to outnumber others.
Red colour prevails in the Canadian flag.
- 2
To triumph; to be victorious.
- 3
To be current, widespread, or predominant; to have currency or prevalence.
In his day and age, such practices prevailed all over Europe.
- 4
To succeed in persuading or inducing.
I prevailed on him to wait.
- 5
obsoleteTo avail.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Prevail in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | dominer, prévaloir, l'emporter , prédominer , persuader |
| German | die Vorherrschaft erringen (over über), sich durchsetzen, dominieren, überwiegen, obsiegen [jur.], siegen (über) |
| Portuguese | prevalecer, predominar |
| Spanish | prevalecer, vencer |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does prevail come from?
From Middle English prevailen, from Old French prevaler, from Latin praevaleō (“be very able or more able, be superior, prevail”), from prae (“before”) + valeō (“be able or powerful”). Displaced native Old English rīcsian.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).