prevailing
/pɹɪˈveɪ.lɪŋ/
"prevailing" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“prevailing” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #13,989 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #13,989
- frequency rank, English
- 10
- letters
- 15
- tracked misspellings
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Predominant; of greatest force.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | prevailing |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /pɹɪˈveɪ.lɪŋ/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #13,989 |
| Misspellings tracked | 15 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “prevailing” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for prevailing is 10 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pɹɪˈveɪ.lɪŋ/. Corpus data places it at rank #13,989 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for prevailing, with forms such as "pervailing", "pprevailing", and "preaviling". 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. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: By surface analysis, prevail + -ing. The correct English form is prevailing, spelled P-R-E-V-A-I-L-I-N-G.
Definition
- 1Predominant; of greatest force.
- 2Prevalent, common, widespread.
Etymology
By surface analysis, prevail + -ing.
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: pervailing,pprevailing,preaviling,prevaiilng,prevailign,prevailingg,prevailinng,prevailling,prevailnig,prevaliing,previaling,prevvailing,prrevailing,prveailing,rpevailing
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of prevailing - 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.
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 "prevailing"?
What does "prevailing" mean?
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Using “prevailing”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-R-E-V-A-I-L-I-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /pɹɪˈveɪ.lɪŋ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.