Question

prevalent On some campuses Frisbees seem to be more prevalent than schoolbooks, especially in the spring. ˈprɛvələnt

Accepted Answer

Widely accepted, favored, or practiced; widespread. Many diseases that were prevalent a century ago have been controlled by advances in medicine. Smallpox was prevalent on several continents for many centuries, and when Europeans brought it with them to the Americas, it killed more American Indians than the armed settlers did. But prevalent doesn't just describe diseases. One ideal of male or female beauty may be prevalent in a particular society and quite a different ideal in another. In the 1950s and '60s, there was a prevalent notion that if you went swimming less than an hour after eating you might drown because of stomach cramps—which goes to show that not every prevalent idea is exactly true.

word	prevalent
definition	Widely accepted, favored, or practiced; widespread.
eg_sentence	On some campuses Frisbees seem to be more prevalent than schoolbooks, especially in the spring.
explanation	Many diseases that were prevalent a century ago have been controlled by advances in medicine. Smallpox was prevalent on several continents for many centuries, and when Europeans brought it with them to the Americas, it killed more American Indians than the armed settlers did. But prevalent doesn't just describe diseases. One ideal of male or female beauty may be prevalent in a particular society and quite a different ideal in another. In the 1950s and '60s, there was a prevalent notion that if you went swimming less than an hour after eating you might drown because of stomach cramps—which goes to show that not every prevalent idea is exactly true.
IPA	ˈprɛvələnt

Prevalent Ideal Widely Accepted Favored Practiced Widespread Campuses