MEANING
More common, noticeable, powerful, or important than the alternatives in a particular situation.
Use it for
identifying the leading interpretation among several; describing the most frequent pattern without claiming universality; distinguishing relative dominance from exclusive controlIdentifies what is largest or most influential relative to alternatives, without claiming exclusivity or an absolute majority. Academic functions: Significance / Scope.
Words that belong together
- the predominant view
- a predominant influence
- the predominant pattern
On the page
The predominant interpretation emphasizes economic incentives, though several authors disagree.
A predominant category need not account for more than half of the cases.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- predominant
Usage notes
Usually non-gradable: predominant, not predominantest. Use predominant in or the predominant + factor/view/group. Register: formal. Commonness: moderately common (qualitative editorial estimate, informed by dictionaries/corpus).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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