List of 426 Sets of Synonyms - How they Differ - Total of 2307 Words - 298

SYNONYMS: prevailing, prevalent, current, rife.
These adjectives denote what exists or is encountered generally at a particular time.

Prevailing applies to what is most frequent or common at a certain time or in a certain place: The prevailing opinion seems to be that a trade war can be averted if both countries make concessions.
Prevalent suggests widespread existence or occurrence but does not imply predominance: Distrust was most prevalent in our midst.
Current often stresses the present time; the term is frequently applied to what passes from one to another or to what is subject to frequent change: Many current psychoanalytic theories diverge markedly from classical Freudian dogma.
Rife implies that something is current, plentiful, or rapidly spreading or increasing: Disgust and distension were both rife.