Prevail means to prove more powerful or superior, often overcoming opposition or difficulties. It can also mean to be widespread or current. The term emphasizes successful outcomes after struggle, typically in a contest, argument, or adverse circumstances, and carries a sense of enduring influence or acceptance.
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"Despite the long odds, justice and truth prevailed in the end."
"Economic pressures are fierce, but innovation often prevails and drives growth."
"Public sentiment may waver, yet a well-argued case can prevail in court."
"In the end, cooperation among the teams prevailed over competition."
Prevail traces to Old French prevaler, from Latin praevalere, meaning to be strong or to have power beforehand. The prefix prae- means before, or in front, and valere means to be strong, to be worth. The term entered Middle English via Norman influence with the sense of overcoming opposition or attaining victory. Historically, prevail carried a strong sense of moral or legal victory, often in battle or policy contexts. Through the centuries, its usage broadened beyond corporeal conquest to include the triumph of ideas, trends, or conditions. By the 16th–17th centuries, prevail commonly described outcomes in courts, debates, and social struggles, implying not mere survival but enduring influence. The word’s usage evolved with the expansion of jurisprudence, politics, and rhetoric, where to prevail status-wise meant to establish primacy or legitimacy. Today, prevail encompasses both concrete success (win a case) and abstract persistence (prevailing winds, prevailing opinion), maintaining its core sense of superior power or broad acceptance.
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Words that rhyme with "prevail"
-ail sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Pronunciation is prɪ-VEIL. Put primary stress on the second syllable: pre-VEIL. Start with a short /ɪ/ in the first syllable, then glide into a long /eɪ/ in the second syllable, ending with /l/. You’ll want the final consonant to be light and not overemphasized. IPA: US/UK/AU: /prɪˈveɪl/; note that the /r/ is rhotic in US and non-rhotic in many UK dialects, but the stress and vowel quality remain the same in standard forms. You can think of it as “pre-VAIL.”
Common mistakes: (1) Stumbling over the /ɪ/ in the first syllable, treating it as a long /i:/; keep it short. (2) Mispronouncing the diphthong /eɪ/ as /ɛɪ/ or /iː/; use a clean /eɪ/ glide from /e/ toward /ɪ/ or simply /eɪ/. (3) Overemphasizing the final /l/ or swallowing it; aim for a light, clear /l/ without vowel intrusion. Correction tips: practice the sequence /rɪ/ + /ˈveɪl/ with a quick, even transition; use minimal pairs like prevail vs. prevail? (note: homophonic in many accents) to anchor the second syllable’s diphthong; record and compare to native speech to ensure natural rhythm.
Across accents, the core /prɪˈveɪl/ remains, but rhoticity and vowel quality shift. In US English, /r/ is rhotic and syllable 2 is a clear /veɪl/ with a pronounced /r/ color in some dialects when linking. UK English tends to be non-rhotic; the /r/ is not pronounced unless followed by a vowel, giving /prɪˈveɪl/ with a quieter r. Australian English is rhotic enough but often softens /ɹ/ in rapid speech and has a slightly broader /eɪ/ diphthong; overall it remains /prɪˈveɪl/. Stress pattern remains on the second syllable in all three variants.
The difficulty lies in the short /ɪ/ of the first syllable followed by a tight, high-front /eɪ/ diphthong in the second syllable, which demands precise mouth shaping and timing. The transition from the /r/ (or its absence in non-rhotic varieties) to the /ɪ/ and then the /veɪ/ can be tricky, especially for non-native speakers. Additionally, the /l/ at the end requires a light touch to avoid vocalic leakage into the final vowel. IPA references help to anchor tongue and lip positioning.
A distinctive feature of prevail is the compact, two-syllable structure where the second syllable carries the full vowel glide /eɪ/. The word relies on a clean onset cluster /pr/ followed by a tense /ɪ/ reduced before the strong /veɪl/. While not a silent-letter word, its subtle stress and smoothing of the /r/ in non-rhotic accents can feel like a unique challenge when aligning with rapid speech.
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