preponderant

Synonym Chooser

How is the word preponderant different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of preponderant are dominant, paramount, and predominant. While all these words mean "superior to all others in influence or importance," preponderant applies to an element or factor that outweighs all others in influence or effect.

preponderant evidence in her favor

In what contexts can dominant take the place of preponderant?

In some situations, the words dominant and preponderant are roughly equivalent. However, dominant applies to something that is uppermost because ruling or controlling.

a dominant social class

When is it sensible to use paramount instead of preponderant?

The meanings of paramount and preponderant largely overlap; however, paramount implies supremacy in importance, rank, or jurisdiction.

unemployment was the paramount issue in the campaign

When would predominant be a good substitute for preponderant?

Although the words predominant and preponderant have much in common, predominant applies to something that exerts, often temporarily, the most marked influence.

a predominant emotion

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of preponderant Market value was preponderant in determining the value of the piece of land that the state deemed worthy of expropriating. Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2025 But the preponderant migrants’ motivation has been, and continues to be, to provide a better life for their families. Bill Gray, The Mercury News, 12 Feb. 2025 Market value was preponderant in determining the value of the piece of land that the state deemed worthy of expropriating. Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2025 But the preponderant migrants’ motivation has been, and continues to be, to provide a better life for their families. Bill Gray, The Mercury News, 12 Feb. 2025 With preponderant influence in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen, Iran is the regional power that has best been able to take advantage of the crisis in the Middle East. F. Gregory Gause Iii, Foreign Affairs, 22 Feb. 2022 The relevance and recent growth of regional Mexican music has become undeniable, and today, the genre holds a preponderant place within the industry. Tere Aguilera, Billboard, 16 Mar. 2023 Under federal law, race cannot be a preponderant motive in drawing a district, wrote Dr. Cervas, a fellow at Carnegie Mellon University. Jimmy Vielkind and Eliza Collins, WSJ, 21 May 2022 In theory the Russian and Indian constitutions are religiously neutral, but in practice each has a preponderant faith (respectively Orthodox Christianity and Hinduism), and both religious minorities and secularists complain of discrimination. The Economist, 14 Dec. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for preponderant
Adjective
  • But perhaps the most dominant aspect of the win came on the defensive end.
    Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 23 May 2025
  • Yet mainstream culture is no longer dominant there: The media outlets and public figures are now punch lines for the site’s main characters, Musk and his MAGA acolytes.
    Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 23 May 2025
Adjective
  • In August, 1939, the British physiologist Alan Hodgkin and his student Andrew Huxley (Aldous’s half brother) examined squid giant axons, which are up to a thousand times thicker than typical human nerve fibres and thus easier to study.
    Rivka Galchen, New Yorker, 26 May 2025
  • The accompanying video – well, better classified as all-encompassing graphics that sucked you into the visual vortex – of football fields and basketball courts pulled at the hearts of 17,000 people as Chesney sang of days gone by with his typical earnestness.
    Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 26 May 2025
Adjective
  • Mercantilism had been the predominant economic model of the prior two centuries, advocating for trade surpluses with all nations.
    Sarah Keohane Williamson, Forbes.com, 16 May 2025
  • Fedde was using a steady four-pitch mix, with his sinker being the predominant pitch.
    Katie Woo, New York Times, 10 May 2025
Adjective
  • While onshore producers of oil and gas have many similar operational and economic traits, such as the shrinking inventory of top tier wells, this decoupling is representative of a fundamentally different outlook for the future of each commodity.
    Bryce Erickson, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025
  • In this case, the study was limited to a single incel forum, which might not be broadly representative of similar discussions on other platforms.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 30 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Preponderant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/preponderant. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.

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