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Prevalence is the state or condition of being widespread or in general use or acceptance.

Prevalence is the noun form of the adjective prevalent, meaning widespread, common, or extensive.

In the context of medicine, prevalence refers to how widespread a disease is—specifically, the total number of cases in a population at a given time.

Example: The prevalence of social media use among teens is often linked to the rise in mental health issues like anxiety.

The first records of the word prevalence come from around the early 1600s. It ultimately derives from the Latin ������𱹲���ŧ����, meaning “to have superior strength” or “to prevail.” (The word prevail is also based on this word.)

Prevalence can be thought of commonness or widespreadness. In fact, another way to make the adjective prevalent into a noun is the word prevalentness. But the word prevalence is much more … prevalent—meaning it’s much more commonly used. It’s often used in discussions of how widespread things are in society or within a particular culture, like the prevalence of memes on social media or the prevalence of a belief among a certain demographic (specific category of people).

In the context of medicine, prevalence is used in just about the same way, but it involves measuring how widespread a certain disease is in a certain population of people. When scientists find that a disease is prevalent among certain people, they then try to find the reason for that prevalence.

What are some other forms of prevalence?

• prevalent (adjective)
• prevalently (adverb)

What are some synonyms for prevalence?

• prevalentness
• pervasiveness
• popularity
• ubiquity

What are some words that share a root or word element with prevalence?

• prevail

What are some words that often get used in discussing prevalence?

• common
• widespread
• belief
• trend
• disease
• illness

Fittingly, prevalence is a common word. It’s often used in discussions about widespread cultural phenomena.

Prevalence of racist acts perpetrated against our Muslim brethren is abhorrent and should be confronted by all of us. Such heinous acts are contrary to the noble teachings of Lord Buddha. Any attempts to misinterpret such blessed principles are treacherous and unpatriotic.

— Sajith Premadasa (@sajithpremadasa)

The prevalence of the “doge” meme is really cramping my research into Venetian political structures.

— Quarynnetine Valente (@catvalente)

. Right ,to our first question. Smoking prevalence worldwide has declined by staggering numbers due to what is termed as disruptive technology. What is disruptive technology?

— Campaign for Safer Alternatives (@GoingSmokefree)

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Which of the following words is LEAST likely to be used to describe something that’s known for its prevalence?

A. widespread
B. common
C. rare
D. ubiquitous