prevalence
/'prevələns/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- The condition of being widespread, common, or general: The state or fact of being prevalent, dominant, or in general use or acceptance.
- (Epidemiology) A measure of disease frequency: The proportion of a population found to have a condition (typically a disease or risk factor) at a specific point in time or over a specified period.
- Superiority in number, amount, or degree: A preponderance or greater number or amount of something.
Examples of Usage
- General Widespread Nature:
- The prevalence of smartphones has changed how we communicate.
- There is a high prevalence of that fashion trend among teenagers.
- Epidemiological Context:
- The study calculated the prevalence of diabetes in the adult population.
- A high disease prevalence can strain healthcare systems.
- Superiority in Amount:
- The prevalence of evidence supported the theory. (Note: This usage is formal and often synonymous with 'preponderance').
Advanced Usage
- "Point prevalence": The proportion of a population that has the condition at a specific point in time.
- The point prevalence of the infection was measured on January 1st.
- "Period prevalence": The proportion of a population that has the condition at any time during a given period.
- The annual period prevalence includes both old and new cases.
Variants and Related Words
- Prevalent (adjective): Widespread in a particular area or at a particular time.
- Flu is most prevalent during the winter months.
- Prevalently (adverb): In a prevalent manner.
Synonyms
- Commonness: The state of being frequent or ordinary.
- Pervasiveness: The quality of spreading widely throughout an area or group.
- Dominance: The state of being more powerful, widespread, or noticeable.
- Preponderance (for the meaning of superiority in amount): The quality of being greater in number, quantity, or importance.
Antonyms
- Rarity: The state of being very uncommon.
- Scarcity: The state of being insufficient or in short supply.
Noun
- a superiority in numbers or amount
- a preponderance of evidence against the defendant
- (epidemiology) the ratio (for a given time period) of the number of occurrences of a disease or event to the number of units at risk in the population
- the quality of prevailing generally; being widespread
- he was surprised by the prevalence of optimism about the future