Prevalent Definition – Meaning and Usage In A Sentence

The “hipster” look was all the rage back in the 1970s, and fashion enthusiasts could not keep calm. Everywhere you’d look, bell bottoms, flower pattern shirts, dresses, and oversized sunglasses were the order of the day. You could say that this look was popular, but the correct term to describe this phenomenon is prevalent; let’s now extrapolate on the prevalent definition and meaning.

The Cambridge dictionary defines the word prevalent as something in common supply or popular. The term also means something familiar at a specific place within a certain period. Use the word in sentences that depict something as “prevailing, common, popular, extensive, current, and fashionable.”

When learning new words, the best way to go about it is by first understanding the word’s definitions. Next, familiarize yourself with using the said word in various forms, and then practice using it in sentences of different contexts. In this article, we will cover all these sections and guarantee a comprehensive understanding.

What Is The Definition Of Prevalent?

The word prevalent refers to something widespread such that it is happening extensively. It defines an action undertaken or known by many people; such actions are considered infectious or highly popular.

When referring to something as prevalent, many people practice or embrace it. An event or a phenomenon that happens frequently or habitually is best described with the word prevalent. For instance, “Many men adopted George Clooney’s way of shaving his mustache, which is now a prevalent style.”

Here are some examples in sentences:

• I don’t hear of David Blaine these days, probably because his magic acts are not as prevalent as they were.
• After Wesley Snipes went to jail for tax evasion, his celebrity status was no longer prevalent as it once was.

Is Prevalent A Negative Word?

The term prevalent is not a negative word; however, it mostly defines negative situations.

The word commonly defines something that happens or exists regularly or is hard to avoid. The word primarily applies in negative situations. For instance, when an area has a high crime rate, we can say that crimes are prevalent.

As previously mentioned, the word has application in the medical world to describe a disease that has become dominant in a specific area. People mostly use this word in adverse situations, but it’s not a negative word. Like in this case, the public health may be warning of a spreading disease that people need to take caution of, which is positive because it saves lives.

Here are some sentences that employ the word in a positive and negative situation:

• The principal revealed that bullying was no longer prevalent due to the new measures.
• Some places in Downtown Baltimore have gang violence and drugs prevalent.

What Is The Meaning Of Prevalent?

The word prevalent also refers to something that happens regularly. Use the word to also mean something dominant at a specific location during a particular time. “Prevalent” can also refer to something that is everywhere.

You may use this word in medical situations to define how widespread disease is in a specific place. For instance, Ebola is a common disease that attacks people living in Congo. Because the disease mainly attacks people in that country during certain times, you can refer to the Ebola disease as prevalent.

Here are some sentences with the word prevalent:

• The task force aims to ensure that malaria is no longer prevalent in Africa by 2050.
• At first, the disease had become prevalent in that specific type of crop, but the experts have now addressed it.

Is Prevalent Entirely A Medical Term?

The word prevalent is not necessarily a medical term; however, the word is quite common in the medical world.

You may have come across the word prevalent in a medical documentary. In this field, the term describes how widespread a particular sickness is. When used as prevalence, the word explains how a disease has infected a specific population or demographic over a period.

It also describes how the disease attacks people within a specific location over time. However, the word has many other uses that are not medically related; hence, we cannot say it is entirely a medical term.

Here are some examples:

• The World Health Organization sent out a team to determine how prevalent COVID-19 was in Atlanta.
• I still don’t understand why chickenpox is prevalent among children below fifteen years.

How To Use Prevalent In A Sentence?

You can use the word prevalent; as a noun, adverb, or adjective. However, it’s essential to understand each form of this word to avoid misusing them.

As a Noun

The word “prevalent” changes into “prevalence” when used in its noun form. The term prevalence refers to the quality or state of being widespread or increasingly popular. It’s also used in public health to describe the total number of infection cases in a particular population at a specified time.

Read these sentences understand:

• The scientists concluded that the prevalence of asthma in men is more than in women of the same age.
• It’s not wise to leave the barn open at night due to the prevalence of snakes in the area.

As an Adjective

“Prevalent” as an adjective becomes prevailing. The word describes an action or an event currently dominant or widespread. You can use “prevailing and prevailed” as adjectives for the word prevalent.

Here are more sentence examples:

• Rumors have it that people who have openly gone against the prevailing Chinese authority in Hong Kong have been torched.
• Flowers and Cocoa are now prevailing in Southern Colombia.

As an Adverb

The term “prevalent” changes into “prevailingly” as an adverb. When used in this form, the word prevailingly describes a predominant action. The word “prevalently” is also an adverb form of prevalent.

Go through these sentences to understand:

• Resident Evil is a movie that portrays a prevailingly hopeless world with a virus that turns people into zombies.
• Any national anthem should be a prevailingly unifying factor for every citizen.

10 Examples Of Prevalent Usage In A Sentence

Most people learn new words and even go a step further to learn their meanings. However, how many times do you familiarize yourself with the concept of constructing sentences with these words? You don’t have to worry about that because here are ten sentences that incorporate the word “prevalent.”

1. The mayor thanked the police department for ensuring that gang violence was no longer prevalent in the city.
2. Although he’s stable, the doctor told us his prevalent condition is not a joke, and we should prepare for the worst.
3. Virtual reality and the Metaverse have changed the prevailing notion of how events and concerts happen.
4. The custom of marrying young girls is no longer prevalent in many parts of Asia due to increased sensitization.
5. My grandmother said that her opinion was prevalent back when she was a young girl but is no longer so.
6. Cancer once showed prevalence in people aged fifty and above, but recent studies show that even young people are at risk too.
7. The iPhone may be America’s prevalent choice of smartphone; however, the brand is far second to Samsung in the Middle East.
8. You’re more likely to survive a lightning strike than go against the prevailing government directives in North Korea.
9. The board decided that the current company was not a choice due to their prevalent opinions.
10. Huey’s attitude had become prevalent, forcing the principal to issue him a two-week suspension.

How Do You Spell Prevalent?

The term prevalent is spelled as p.r.e.v.a.l.e.n.t.

How Do You Pronounce Prevalently?

The best way to pronounce this word is preh·vuh·luhnt

Pronunciation is a generally accepted method of speaking or saying words. Thus correct pronunciation of the word allows you not to mispronounce it and look unknowledgeable. The best way to learn is to listen to the sequence of sounds used in a specific word from an expert and then practice saying the word.

How Many Syllables are in Prevalent?

This word has three syllables; prev.a.lent.

History & Etymology of Prevalent

The archaic definition of the word prevalent is “dominant” or “to overpower.” However, the word originates from two Latin and English words: praevalere or prevalent and prevail.

In the 16th century, the Latin word praevalentem was used to describe something that is “of superior grade or quality.” Its original form, praevalere, comprises two words; prae meaning “before” and -valere meaning “to be powerful or strong.” Some of the meanings of the Latin words praevalere and praevalentem have become obsolete and are no longer recognized as the English definitions of the term prevalent.

Prevalent Synonyms

• Frequent
• Normal
• Popular
• Everyday
• Common
• Ubiquitous

Prevalent Antonyms

• Infrequent
• Scarce
• Uncommon
• Irregular
• Exceptional
• Peculiar

When Was Prevalent First Used?

The words prae and Valente were first used together as English words in the 1650s.

Conclusion

Learning new words to add to our vocabulary is not easy. Most people are constantly up and about their daily schedules and are too busy to either learn these words or use them correctly. It would help if you took the initiative to understand what certain words mean and how to use them correctly. With this article, you shouldn’t have any problems with the word prevalent meaning and usage in sentences.