SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
dominant
adjective
Having the greatest influence, power, or prominence in a setting.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Most influential or prominent
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topControlling implies power; dominant can simply identify the most prominent feature.
RELATED FORMS, ONE FEATURED ENTRY
The dominant family
These forms are closely related, but their grammar and use are not identical. Expand a form to compare its meaning and examples.
dominancenoun
The condition of having the greatest influence, strength, or prominence.
Greatest influence or prominence
Closest synonyms
Related expressions
The dominance of blue in the mural gave the room a cool atmosphere.
The dominance of epic verse at public festivals made shorter comic works seem almost absent from the city's celebrations.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See dominant in use
A concern with memory is the dominant theme of the novel.
Blue was dominant in the model city's palette because it covered far more visible surface than any other color.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license