Predominant

/prɪˈdɒmɪnənt/

adjectivemedium📊CommonDescriptive
1 meaning3 questions

Definitions

1

Present as the strongest or main element; most common or important.

/prɪˈdɒmɪnənt/

adjectiveneutralmedium
Descriptive

Most important or having control over others.

Green is the predominant color of the landscape during springtime.

💡 Simply: Imagine you're at a party. If one kind of music is playing all night, that's the *predominant* music. It's the main one, the most noticeable.

👶 For kids: It means the biggest or most important thing.

More Examples

2

The company has a predominant share of the market.

3

Fear was the predominant emotion felt by the survivors.

4

The predominant culture in this region is influenced by both indigenous and colonial history.

How It's Used

Politics

"The predominant political party controls the majority of the seats in parliament."

Business

"Market leaders often have a predominant position."

Environment

"The predominant wind direction in the region is from the west."

From Latin *praedōmināns* meaning 'ruling, prevailing,' from *prae-* 'before' + *domināns* 'ruling.'

The word has been in use since the early 17th century and was used in scientific and political writings to describe the most influential forces or elements.

Memory tip

Think of the DOMINant leader - PREdominant. It's all about who's in charge!

Word Origin

LanguageLatin
Original meaning

"ruling, prevailing"

predominant featurepredominant rolepredominant factorpredominant influencepredominant speciespredominant colorpredominant language

Common misspellings

predominentpredominante

Usage

30%Spoken
70%Written