prevail (redirected from prevail upon)

pre·vail  (pr-vl)

intr.v. pre·vailed, pre·vail·ing, pre·vails

1. To be greater in strength or influence; triumph: prevailed against the enemy.

2. To be or become effective; win out: hoped justice would prevail.

3. To be most common or frequent; be predominant: a region where snow and ice prevail.

4. To be in force, use, or effect; be current: an ancient tradition that still prevails.

5. To use persuasion or inducement successfully. Often used with on, upon, or with. See Synonyms at persuade.

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[Middle English prevailen, from Old French prevaloir, prevaill-, from Latin praevalre, to be stronger : prae-, pre- + valre, to be strong; see wal- in Indo-European roots.]

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pre·vailer n.

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prevail

Verb

1. (often foll. by over, against)to prove superior; gain mastery: moderate nationalists have until now prevailed over the radicals

2. to be the most important feature: a casual good-natured mood prevailed

3. to be generally established: this attitude has prevailed for many years

4. prevail on or upon to succeed in persuading: he had easily been prevailed upon to accept a lift [Latin praevalere to be superior in strength]

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	prevail - be larger in number, quantity, power, status or importance; "Money reigns supreme here"; "Hispanics predominate in this neighborhood" dominate, predominate, reign, rule override - prevail over; "health considerations override financial concerns" overarch - be central or dominant; "This scene overarches the entire first act" outbalance, overbalance, preponderate, outweigh - weigh more heavily; "these considerations outweigh our wishes"
	2.	prevail - be valid, applicable, or true; "This theory still holds" obtain, hold exist, be - have an existence, be extant; "Is there a God?"
	3.	prevail - continue to exist; "These stories die hard"; "The legend of Elvis endures" die hard, persist, endure, run continue - exist over a prolonged period of time; "The bad weather continued for two more weeks" carry over - transfer or persist from one stage or sphere of activity to another run - occur persistently; "Musical talent runs in the family" reverberate - have a long or continuing effect; "The discussions with my teacher reverberated throughout my adult life"
	4.	prevail - prove superior; "The champion prevailed, though it was a hard fight" triumph win - be the winner in a contest or competition; be victorious; "He won the Gold Medal in skating"; "Our home team won"; "Win the game"
	5.	prevail - use persuasion successfully; "He prevailed upon her to visit his parents" persuade - cause somebody to adopt a certain position, belief, or course of action; twist somebody's arm; "You can't persuade me to buy this ugly vase!"

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prevail

verb 1. win, succeed, triumph, overcome, overrule, be victorious, carry the day, prove superior, gain mastery

verb 2. be widespread, abound, predominate, be current, be prevalent, preponderate, exist generally

prevail on or upon someone persuade, influence, convince, prompt, win over, induce, incline, dispose, sway, talk into, bring round

Translations

prevail [prɪˈveɪl] vi (= gain mastery) → prevalecer (= be current); predominar (= persuade): to prevail (up)on sb to do sth → persuadir a algn para que haga algo

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prevail [prɪˈveɪl] vi (= win) → l'emporter, prévaloir (= be usual); avoir cours (= persuade);

to prevail (up)on sb to do → persuader qn de faire

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prevail [prɪˈveɪl] vi (= be current) → vorherrschen (= triumph); siegen;

to prevail (up)on sb to do sth (= persuade) → jdn dazu bewegen or überreden, etw zu tun

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prevail [prɪˈveɪl] vi (= win, be usual) → prevalere (= persuade): to prevail (up)on sb to do → persuadere qn a fare