intr.v., -vailed, -vail·ing, -vails.

1. To be greater in strength or influence; triumph: prevailed against the enemy.
2. To be or become effective; win out: hoped justice would prevail.
3. To be most common or frequent; be predominant: a region where snow and ice prevail.
4. To be in force, use, or effect; be current: an ancient tradition that still prevails.
5. To use persuasion or inducement successfully. Often used with on, upon, or with. See synonyms at persuade.

[Middle English prevailen, from Old French prevaloir, prevaill-, from Latin praevalēre, to be stronger : prae-, pre- + valēre, to be strong.]

prevailer pre·vail'er n.

also prevail on

verb

To occupy the preeminent position in: dominate, predominate, preponderate, reign, rule. Idioms: have the ascendancy, reign supreme. See over/under.

phrasal verb - prevail against (or over)

To win a victory over, as in battle or a competition: beat, best, conquer, defeat, master, overcome, rout, subdue, subjugate, surmount, triumph over, vanquish, worst. Informal trim, whip. Slang ace, lick. Idioms: carrywinthe day, gethavethe best of, gethavethe better of, go someone one better. See win/lose/recovery.

phrasal verb - prevail on (or upon)

To succeed in causing (a person) to act in a certain way: argue into, bring, bring around (or round), convince, get, induce, persuade, sell (on), talk into. See persuasion/dissuasion.

Successfully persuade or influence, as in They prevailed on me to speak at their annual luncheon. This term uses prevail in the sense of "exert superior force." It replaced prevail with in the mid-1600s.

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v

Definition: dominate, control
Antonyms: lose, surrender

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IN BRIEF: To be successful or win. Also: To become more common or widespread.

It is good to realize that if love and peace can prevail on earth, and if we can teach our children to honor nature's gifts, the joys and beauties of the outdoors will be here forever. — Jimmy Carter

Dansk (Danish)
v. intr. - sejre, være fremherskende

idioms:

• prevail on    overtale til
• prevail upon    overtale til
• prevailing wind    det fremherskende

Nederlands (Dutch)
winnen, overheersen, het overwicht hebben, meest voorkomen, overhalen

Français (French)
v. intr. - prévaloir (contre), prédominer

idioms:

• prevail on    persuader (de faire)
• prevail upon    persuader (de faire)
• prevailing wind    vent dominant

Deutsch (German)
v. - siegen, vorherrschen

idioms:

• prevail on    überreden
• prevail upon    überreden
• prevailing wind    vorwiegende Windrichtung

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - επικρατώ, κατισχύω, υπερισχύω, επιβάλλω, πείθω, κυριαρχώ

idioms:

• prevail on    (μετα)πείθω
• prevail upon    (μετα)πείθω
• prevailing wind    δεσπόζων άνεμος

Italiano (Italian)
predominare, prevalere, avere la meglio, avere successo, vincere, primeggiare

idioms:

• prevail on/upon    prevalere su
• prevailing wind    vento dominante

Português (Portuguese)
v. - prevalecer

idioms:

• prevail on/upon    convencer
• prevailing wind    vento dominante

Русский (Russian)
одерживать верх, торжествовать

idioms:

• prevail on/upon    одерживать верх над
• prevailing wind    преобладающий ветер

Español (Spanish)
v. intr. - prevalecer, predominar

idioms:

• prevail on    convencer, persuadir
• prevail upon    convencer, persuadir
• prevailing wind    el viento predominante/imperante

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - vara rådande, florera, förmå, beveka, segra

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
流行, 获胜, 盛行

idioms:

• prevail on    说服, 诱使
• prevail upon    说服, 诱使
• prevailing wind    盛行风

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
v. intr. - 流行, 獲勝, 盛行

idioms:

• prevail on    說服, 誘使
• prevail upon    說服, 誘使
• prevailing wind    盛行風

한국어 (Korean)
v. intr. - 우세하다 , 극복하다

idioms:

• prevail on    설복하다
• prevail upon    설득하다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 勝つ, 普及している, 普及する, 流行する, 克服する

idioms:

• prevail on/upon    説き伏せる, 説得して…させる

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يسود, يتغلب, ينتصر على‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. intr. - ‮גבר, היה נפוץ, היה רווח, שרר, שלט, ניצח‬

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