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Definition of "preponderate" [pre•pon•der•ate]

  • To exceed something else in weight. (verb-intransitive)
  • To be greater than something else, as in power, force, quantity, or importance; predominate: "In balancing his faults with his perfections, the latter seemed rather to preponderate” ( Henry Fielding). (verb-intransitive)
  • Preponderant. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "preponderate" in a sentence
  • "Connections to political authorities and centers are important variables in the activities and identities of the trading tribes and their subgroupings, and compared to kuchis and Lohanis, pawindahs appear less subject to state intervention in commercial, military and administrative arenas and more associated with the Pashto language and territories where Pashto-speakers preponderate."
  • "One observer after another expressed an opinion, but on the day the convention met, even Gore, who was as much an expert on the subject as anyone, confessed that “I really cannot yet form any judgment of the weight of members, or which side the pros or cons will preponderate.”"
  • "Friedrich Engels brings us closer to some balance in his Letter to J Bloch when he asserts: "The economic situation is the basis, but various elements of the superstructure - ... political, juristic, philosophical theories, religious views ... - also exercise their influence upon the course of the historical struggles and in many cases preponderate in determining their form.""