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prevalecer

pre-bah-leh-SEHRpɾeβaleˈθeɾ

“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

Subjunctive

Imperfect Subjunctive

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

Present Subjunctive

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

Indicative

Preterite

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

Imperfect

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

Present

yoprevalezco
túprevaleces
él/ella/ustedprevalece
nosotrosprevalecemos
vosotrosprevalecéis
ellos/ellas/ustedesprevalecen
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.