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Noun: prevalence  pre-vu-lun(t)s
  1. The quality of prevailing generally; being widespread
    "he was surprised by the prevalence of optimism about the future"
     
  2. (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
     
  3. A superiority in numbers or amount
    "a prevalence of evidence against the defendant";
    - preponderance

Derived forms: prevalences

Type of: figure, generality, number, ratio

Encyclopedia: Prevalence