prevailing
/pɹɪˈveɪ.lɪŋ/adjective, verb
prevailing is spelled P-R-E-V-A-I-L-I-N-G: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 13,897th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, prevailing means “Predominant; of greatest force” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in prevailing?
| Letters | 10: P-R-E-V-A-I-L-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| 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 and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; 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 prevailing?
Prevailing 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 prevailing?
- US /pɹɪˈveɪ.lɪŋ/
Prevailing has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-prevailing.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with prevailing?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as prevailing from its last stressed vowel (/eɪlɪŋ/):
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 prevailing
- more prevailing comparative
- most prevailing superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does prevailing mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Predominant; of greatest force.
The prevailing opinion was for additional planning time.
- 2
Prevalent, common, widespread.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of prevail
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Prevailing in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense predominant:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | herrschend |
| Spanish | prevaleciente |
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 prevailing come from?
By surface analysis, prevail + -ing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).