01
dominant
Describing a person who likes to have control and direct others; commanding.
example
In der Gruppe war er der dominante Charakter, der alle Entscheidungen traf.
In the group, he was the dominant character who made all the decisions.
dominant
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Meanings
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Usage tips
Use as an adverb
'Dominant' can be used not only as an adjective before a noun or with 'sein' (to be), but also as an adverb. It then describes the manner of an action, often in the combination 'dominant auftreten' (to come across/act in a dominant way).
EXAMPLE
Er versucht immer, in Diskussionen sehr dominant aufzutreten.
He always tries to come across as very dominant in discussions.
Typical collocations
When talking about personality, 'dominant' is often combined with nouns such as 'Charakter' (character), 'Verhalten' (behavior), or 'Persönlichkeit' (personality). It describes a person who tends to take the lead.
EXAMPLE
Sie hat ein dominantes Verhalten, das nicht jeder mag.
She has dominant behavior that not everyone likes.
Typical collocations
In the meaning 'vorherrschend' (predominant), 'dominant' often describes abstract things or features. Typical combinations are 'eine dominante Rolle spielen' (to play a dominant role), 'die dominante Farbe' (the dominant color), or 'das dominante Thema' (the dominant theme).
EXAMPLE
In seiner Architektur spielt Glas eine dominante Rolle.
Glass plays a dominant role in his architecture.
Register: technical language
In biology and genetics, 'dominant' has a very specific, technical meaning. It describes an inherited trait that prevails over another. In music theory, it is also a technical term for a specific scale degree.
EXAMPLE
Das Gen für dunkle Haare ist oft dominant.
The gene for dark hair is often dominant.
Compare with
dominant vs überwiegend
predominantly
'überwiegend' and 'dominant' can both show that something is stronger or more important than something else. However, 'überwiegend' mainly describes quantity or proportion: something makes up the largest part. 'dominant' describes what stands out especially strongly or plays the most important role. The words can be confused because both can refer to something predominant. A practical tip: 'überwiegend' fits with majorities and proportions, while 'dominant' fits with a particularly strong feature, color, topic, or influence.
dominant
In der Küche ist der Geruch von Knoblauch sehr dominant.
In the kitchen, the smell of garlic is very dominant.
überwiegend
In dem Kurs sprechen die Teilnehmer überwiegend Deutsch.
In the course, the participants speak predominantly German.
In real life
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