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prevalecer

pre-bah-leh-SEHR/pɾeβaleˈθeɾ/

“prevalecer” means “to prevail” in Spanish (to triumph or win out over something else).

to prevail

Also: to predominate, to take precedence
VerbB2irregular er
A small green sprout growing successfully through a crack in a hard gray pavement.
gerundprevaleciendo
past Participleprevalecido
infinitiveprevalecer

📝 In Action

Al final, la verdad siempre prevalecerá sobre la mentira.

B1

In the end, the truth will always prevail over the lie.

En esta región suelen prevalecer los vientos del norte.

B2

In this region, north winds tend to predominate.

Debemos dejar que el sentido común prevalezca en esta discusión.

C1

We must let common sense prevail in this discussion.

Word Connections

Synonyms

Antonyms

Common Collocations

  • prevalecer sobre – to prevail over
  • hacer prevalecer – to make something prevail/enforce

🔄 Conjugations

subjunctive

imperfect

ellos/ellas/ustedesprevalecieran
yoprevaleciera
túprevalecieras
vosotrosprevalecierais
nosotrosprevaleciéramos
él/ella/ustedprevaleciera

present

ellos/ellas/ustedesprevalezcan
yoprevalezca
túprevalezcas
vosotrosprevalezcáis
nosotrosprevalezcamos
él/ella/ustedprevalezca

indicative

preterite

ellos/ellas/ustedesprevalecieron
yoprevalecí
túprevaleciste
vosotrosprevalecisteis
nosotrosprevalecimos
él/ella/ustedprevaleció

imperfect

ellos/ellas/ustedesprevalecían
yoprevalecía
túprevalecías
vosotrosprevalecíais
nosotrosprevalecíamos
él/ella/ustedprevalecía

present

ellos/ellas/ustedesprevalecen
yoprevalezco
túprevaleces
vosotrosprevalecéis
nosotrosprevalecemos
él/ella/ustedprevalece
View All Tenses & Moods →

Translate to Spanish

Words that translate to "prevalecer" in Spanish:

to predominate→to prevail→

✏️ Quick Practice

Quick Quiz: prevalecer

Question 1 of 3

How do you say 'I prevail' in Spanish?

📚 More Resources

👥 Word Family▼
prevaleciente(prevailing) — Adjective
valor(value) — Noun
valer(to be worth) — Verb
🎵 Rhymes▼
📚 Etymology▼

From the Latin 'praevalescere', where 'prae' means 'before' or 'above' and 'valere' means 'to be strong' or 'to be worth'. Effectively, it means to be stronger than others.

First recorded: 13th century

Cognates (Related words)

English: prevailFrench: prévaloir

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is 'prevalecer' the same as 'ganar'?

Not exactly. 'Ganar' is used for winning a prize or a game. 'Prevalecer' is more about an idea, a rule, or a natural force being the one that survives or dominates.

Is it a regular verb?

Mostly, but it has a spelling change (zc) in the present 'yo' form and in all subjunctive forms.

Can I use it to talk about the weather?

Yes! You can say 'Prevalecen las nubes' to mean that cloudy weather is the main feature of the day.