predominate

1 of 2

adjective

pre·​dom·​i·​nate pri-ˈdä-mə-nət 

: predominant

predominate

2 of 2

verb

pre·​dom·​i·​nate pri-ˈdä-mə-ˌnāt 

predominated; predominating; predominates

intransitive verb

1

: to hold advantage in numbers or quantity

2

: to exert controlling power or influence : prevail

transitive verb

: to exert control over : dominate

predomination

pri-ˌdä-mə-ˈnā-shən 

noun

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Predominant vs. Predominate

Predominant and predominate are synonymous adjectives. Predominant is the older and much more common form. A number of handbooks and commentators hold predominate to be a mistake—a few insisting that the word is only a verb. But they are wrong. As an adjective predominate is somewhat more likely to turn up in technical writing than in general writing. The adverbs predominantly and predominately are a more even match in frequency than their base adjectives are, although predominantly is still significantly more common than predominately.

Examples of predominate in a Sentence

Adjective

the predominate color in the painting

the predominate reason for the change

Verb

Older people predominate in that neighborhood.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Women Inspiring Women Unlike many parts of the world where men predominate among art collectors, India has always had women who lead the way. —Shreejaya Nair, ARTnews.com, 16 Oct. 2024

Large-scale review articles of autism neuroimaging studies have reported ratios as high as 15:1; others find male participants predominate 6:1 or 9:1. —Ingrid Wickelgren, Scientific American, 22 Nov. 2022

Verb

Speaking from my own perspective as an American collector, something like Eurocentrism has long predominated American attitudes toward high-end watchmaking. —Allen Farmelo, Robb Report, 29 Oct. 2024

In my conversations with company executives since the July publication of my book, Brain Rush, two questions from business leaders have predominated: Which generative AI applications will yield the biggest payoffs? —Peter Cohan, Forbes, 8 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

alteration of predominant

Verb

Medieval Latin praedominatus, past participle of praedominari

First Known Use

Adjective

1591, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1589, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

predominate

verb

pre·​dom·​i·​nate

pri-ˈdäm-ə-ˌnāt

1

: to be predominant : prevail

2

: to go beyond others in number or quantity

cottages predominated

predomination

-ˌdäm-ə-ˈnā-shən

noun