meaning - "Prevalent" vs "prevailing"


What is the difference in meaning between prevalent and prevailing? I'm not sure I get the nuance, if there is one.



Answer



The copy of the NOAD (New Oxford American Dictionary) I had installed on my Mac Mini when I wrote this answer had the following example about the usage of prevalent and prevailing:



Wildflowers might be prevalent in the mountains during the spring months, but a particular type of wildflower might be the prevailing one. Prevalent, in other words, implies widespread occurrence or acceptance in a particular place or time (a prevalent belief during the nineteenth century), while prevailing suggests that something exists in such quantity that it surpasses or leads all others in acceptance, usage, or belief (the prevailing theory about the evolution of man).



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