as in frequency
the fact or state of happening often
the prevalence of rumors when hard information is withheld from the public
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Recent Examples of prevalence
Tedros noted that Guinea-Bissau has a high prevalence of hepatitis B infection, meaning there is a significant risk that newborns who go unvaccinated in the trial could contract the disease.
—
Helen Branswell, STAT, 11 Feb. 2026
County-level variation in health-care spending was explained 65 percent by service utilization, 24 percent by price differences, 7 percent by disease prevalence, and just 4 percent by age.
—Chris Pope, Washington Post, 10 Feb. 2026
Higher intake of caffeinated coffee and tea was associated with lower prevalence of subjective cognitive decline and slightly better objective cognitive performance.
—Lindsey Leake, NBC news, 9 Feb. 2026
After tracking this data for 14 years, researchers found that those with an evening chronotype had a 79% higher prevalence of an overall poor score, meaning less than 50 points, compared to those with an intermediate chronotype.
—Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 9 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for prevalence
Helen Branswell, STAT, 11 Feb. 2026
County-level variation in health-care spending was explained 65 percent by service utilization, 24 percent by price differences, 7 percent by disease prevalence, and just 4 percent by age.
—Chris Pope, Washington Post, 10 Feb. 2026
Higher intake of caffeinated coffee and tea was associated with lower prevalence of subjective cognitive decline and slightly better objective cognitive performance.
—Lindsey Leake, NBC news, 9 Feb. 2026
After tracking this data for 14 years, researchers found that those with an evening chronotype had a 79% higher prevalence of an overall poor score, meaning less than 50 points, compared to those with an intermediate chronotype.
—Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 9 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for prevalence
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prevalence
Noun
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Research suggests that ginger can significantly cut down on the intensity of the nausea in both cases, and may reduce the frequency of vomiting in the latter.—
The New York Times News Service Syndicate,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Staff at Hearst took note this week of the frequency in which board member and scion Austin Hearst dined with Epstein in 2013; emails showed Epstein invited Hearst to visit his home, and the two planned a trip together to visit Harvard.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The incident left the community and country in shock; school shootings are not a frequent occurrence in Canada.—
Washington Examiner Staff,
The Washington Examiner,
11 Feb. 2026
-
Although in an ideal world the audience for a film will be drawn from all four quadrants, that’s not a common occurrence.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Wiseman's frequence collaborator, cinematographer John Davey, will also be a guest of Camerimage.—
Carolyn Giardina,
The Hollywood Reporter,
2 Oct. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Prevalence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prevalence. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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