prevailing

I

(Roget's IV) modif.

Syn. prevalent, general, current, rife, popular, common, regular, steady, predominant, dominant, universal, worldwide, sweeping, comprehensive, widespread, rampant, ruling, chief, principal, usual; see also common 1 .

Syn.- prevailing applies to that which leads all others in acceptance, usage, belief, etc. at a given time and in a given place [ a prevailing practice ] ; current refers to that which is commonly accepted or in general usage at the time specified or, if unspecified, at the present time [ a pronunciation current in the 18th century ] ; prevalent implies widespread occurrence or acceptance but does not now connote the predominance of prevailing [ a prevalent belief ] ; rife implies rapidly increasing prevalence and often connotes excitement or alarm [ rumors about war were rife]

II

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) a.

superior, dominant, affective, prevalent, widespread, general, preponderant, predominant, universal, popular, current, principal, reigning, in style.

ANT.: outmoded, disappearing, failing

III

(Roget's Thesaurus II) adjective 1. Most generally existing or encountered at a given time: current, predominant, prevalent, regnant, rife, widespread. See SPECIFIC. 2. Having preeminent significance: ascendant, dominant, predominant, prepotent, regnant, ruling, supreme. See IMPORTANT.