dominance

dom·in·ance
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UK/ˈdɒmɪnəns/US, dialectal/ˈdɑmɪnəns/Australia/ˈdɔmɪnəns/New Zealand/ˈdɒmənəns/

noun

The state of being dominant; of prime importance; supremacy.

Meanings

noundominance (countable and uncountable, plural dominances)

plural dominances

  1. countableuncountableThe state of being dominant; of prime importance; supremacy.

    But with the lively Dos Santos pulling the strings behind strikers Pavlyuchenko and Defoe, Spurs controlled the first half without finding the breakthrough their dominance deserved.

    2011 September 29, Jon Smith, “Tottenham 3 - 1 Shamrock Rovers”, in BBC Sport
    1 more example

    Thus approximately 98% of signs contained English, and 93.5% of signs were wholly in English. As far as linguistic landscapes go, this is a case of extreme monolingual dominance in a multilingual setting.

    2019, Li Huang, James Lambert, “Another Arrow for the Quiver: A New Methodology for Multilingual Researchers”, in Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, →DOI, page 5
  2. countableuncountableBeing in a position of power, authority or ascendancy over others.

    Shepard: Too many lives were lost at that base. I'm not sorry it's gone. Illusive Man: The first of many lives. Illusive Man: The technology from that base could have secured human dominance in the galaxy. Against the Reapers and beyond.

    2010, BioWare, Mass Effect 2 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC
  3. countableuncountableA feeling of power and capacity to act or control another.
  4. countableuncountablemedicineThe superior development of or preference for one side of the body or one of a pair of organs; such as being right-handed.
  5. countableuncountablebiologyof an allele, the degree to which it expresses its phenotype when heterozygous, such as whether it is dominant or recessive.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounsuperior development of one side of the body

Similar
Broader
bodily property

nounthe state that exists when one person or group has power over another

nounthe power or right to give orders or make decisions

Broader

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

Translations

Bulgarian госпо́дство, преоблада́ване
  • госпо́дство (gospódstvo)state of being dominant
  • преоблада́ване (preobladávane)state of being dominant
  • домина́нтност (dominántnost)property of a gene
Chinese Mandarin 優勢 /优势, 支配地位
  • 優勢 /优势 (yōushì)state of being dominant
  • 支配地位 (zhīpèi dìwèi)state of being dominant
  • 統治 /统治 (tǒngzhì)being in a position over others
  • 單側性優勢 /单侧性优势 (dāncèxìng yōushì)superior development or preference for one side of the body or for one of a pair of organs
  • 顯性 /显性 (xiǎnxìng)property of a gene
Czech dominance
  • dominancestate of being dominant
Dutch dominantie, overheersing
  • dominantiestate of being dominant
  • overheersingbeing in a position over others
  • dominantiesuperior development or preference for one side of the body or for one of a pair of organs
  • dominantieproperty of a gene
Finnish hallinta, hallitsevuus
  • hallintastate of being dominant
  • hallitsevuusbeing in a position over others
  • hallitsevuussuperior development or preference for one side of the body or for one of a pair of organs
  • dominoivuusproperty of a gene
French domination, dominance
  • dominationstate of being dominant
  • dominancebeing in a position over others
  • autoritébeing in a position over others
  • dominancesuperior development or preference for one side of the body or for one of a pair of organs
  • dominanceproperty of a gene
German Dominanz, Vorherrschaft
  • Dominanzstate of being dominant
  • Vorherrschaftstate of being dominant
  • Herrschaftbeing in a position over others
  • Dominanzsuperior development or preference for one side of the body or for one of a pair of organs
  • Dominanzproperty of a gene
Hebrew דומיננטיות
  • דומיננטיות (dominant'iut)state of being dominant
Hungarian dominancia, dominancia
  • dominanciastate of being dominant
  • dominanciabeing in a position over others
  • dominanciaproperty of a gene
Lithuanian viešpatavimas
  • viešpatavimasstate of being dominant
Polish dominacja
  • dominacjastate of being dominant
Portuguese domínio, dominância
  • domíniostate of being dominant
  • dominânciastate of being dominant
  • controlestate of being dominant
  • domíniobeing in a position over others
  • dominânciabeing in a position over others
  • dominânciasuperior development or preference for one side of the body or for one of a pair of organs
  • dominânciaproperty of a gene
Romanian dominanță, domnie
  • dominanțăstate of being dominant
  • domniestate of being dominant
  • dominanțăproperty of a gene
Russian госпо́дство, преоблада́ние
  • госпо́дство (gospódstvo)state of being dominant
  • преоблада́ние (preobladánije)state of being dominant
  • домини́рование (dominírovanije)state of being dominant
  • госпо́дство (gospódstvo)being in a position over others
  • домини́рование (dominírovanije)being in a position over others
  • домина́нтность (dominántnostʹ)superior development or preference for one side of the body or for one of a pair of organs
  • домини́рование (dominírovanije)superior development or preference for one side of the body or for one of a pair of organs
  • домина́нтность (dominántnostʹ)property of a gene
  • домини́рование (dominírovanije)property of a gene
Swedish dominans
  • dominansstate of being dominant
Vietnamese ưu thế, ưu thế
  • ưu thếstate of being dominant
  • ưu thếbeing in a position over others
  • tính trộisuperior development or preference for one side of the body or for one of a pair of organs
  • sự thuậnsuperior development or preference for one side of the body or for one of a pair of organs
  • tính trộiproperty of a gene
Cite this entry
APA

dominance. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dominance

MLA

“dominance.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dominance. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dominance,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dominance.

Source: dominance on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.