prevail

/pɹɪˈveɪl/

//pɹɪˈveɪl// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"prevail" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“prevail” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,988. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,988
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - 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.

Corpus desk

Index EN-prevail · prevail · English

prevail · rank #13,988 · 10 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,988
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH portrayal

Nearest frequency peer: portrayal (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “prevail”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “prevail” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

prevail vs prevailed
78% similar
prevail vs prepaid
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for prevail
PropertyValue
Headwordprevail
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/pɹɪˈveɪl/
Letters7
Frequency rank#13,988
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “prevail”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).prevaillands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “portrayal” (#13,987), “prevailing” (#13,989), “Poe” (#13,986). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “prevail” is #13,988. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around prevail (IPA /pɹɪˈveɪl/), averb. Corpus frequency is #13,988 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for prevail, with forms such as "pervail", "pprevail", and "preavil". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "prevailed", "prepaid", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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. The correct English form is prevail, spelled P-R-E-V-A-I-L.

Definition

  1. 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.
  2. 2
    To triumph; to be victorious.
  3. 3
    To be current, widespread, or predominant; to have currency or prevalence.
  4. 4
    To succeed in persuading or inducing.
  5. 5
    To avail.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how prevail appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Red colour prevails in the Canadian flag.
  2. And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

Etymology

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.

This word in other languages

prevalecer(Español)dominer(Français)dominieren(Deutsch)prevalecer(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • pervail
  • pprevail
  • preavil
  • prevaill
  • prevali
  • previal
  • prevvail
  • prrevail
  • prveail
  • rpevail

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of prevail - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

pervail2pprevail1preavil2prevaill1prevali2previal2prevvail1prrevail1
Edit distance from "prevail"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "prevail"?
"prevail" is spelled P-R-E-V-A-I-L. The IPA pronunciation is /pɹɪˈveɪl/.
What does "prevail" mean?
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.
What words are commonly confused with "prevail"?
"prevail" is commonly confused with "prevailed", "prepaid". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "prevail"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "prevail" is /pɹɪˈveɪl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "prevail"?
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. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "prevail", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

rampant#13,998oneself#13,972onboard#13,971odyssey#13,969

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

Phelps10 variantsrooftop10 variantsrooting10 variantsrouting10 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list