prevailing

Từ điển American Heritage Dictionary 4th

pre·vail·ing (prĭ-vāʹlĭng)adj.
1. Most frequent or common; predominant.
2. Generally current; widespread. pre·vailʹing·ly adv.pre·vailʹing·ness n. 
Synonyms: prevailing, prevalent, current
These adjectives denote what exists or is encountered generally at a particular time. Prevailing applies to what is most frequent or common at a certain time or in a certain place: took a poll to find the prevailing opinion. Prevalent suggests widespread existence or occurrence but does not imply predominance: a belief that was prevalent in the Middle Ages. Current often stresses the present time and is frequently applied to what is subject to frequent change: current psychoanalytic theories.

• Từ đồng nghĩa / Synonyms:
  prevalent, predominant, dominant, rife