To succeed in the end despite resistance, uncertainty, or difficulty.
Reach for it when describing a cause, person, or quality that ultimately overcomes opposition
Patient negotiation prevailed after several hurried proposals failed.
| playful | |
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| everyday | |
| professional | |
| formal | |
| literary |
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playful
carry the day
Fits when one argument or proposal wins support in a lively account
Careful The idiom feels informal and emphasizes persuasion more than endurance.
everyday
Fits when reaching the intended result is the only point
Careful Succeed does not imply an opposing force or a contested outcome.
everyday
take hold
Fits when an idea or practice gradually becomes established
Careful Take hold describes adoption but not a deliberate victory.
everyday
Fits when where a contest has a clear victor
Careful Win can make cooperation or gradual acceptance sound adversarial.
professional
Fits if a named obstacle is defeated or managed
Careful Overcome normally takes the obstacle as its object rather than the winning principle.
formal
endure
Fits if survival through time matters more than defeating an opponent
Careful Endure means remain, not necessarily emerge successful.
literary
Suits a decisive, emotionally resonant victory over difficulty
Careful Triumph is more celebratory and may exaggerate a modest success.
justice prevail
The advocates kept working until justice prevailed in the final ruling.
ultimately prevail
The safer design would ultimately prevail on both cost and reliability.
prevail against
Community gardens can prevail against neglect when residents share ownership.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Dvortygirl, American accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Updated
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