Origin: Latin suffix -ance
Dominance has 5 different meanings across 1 category:
superior development of one side of the body
"The athlete's dominance was evident when she consistently used her right hand to win every rally."
the state that exists when one person or group has power over another
"her apparent dominance of her husband was really her attempt to make him pay attention to her"
the organic phenomenon in which one of a pair of alleles present in a genotype is expressed in the phenotype and the other allele of the pair is not
"In Mendelian genetics, dominance explains why the dominant allele determines the plant's flower color while the recessive allele remains hidden in the phenotype."
the power or right to give orders or make decisions
"he has the authority to issue warrants"
"deputies are given authorization to make arrests"
"a place of potency in the state"
The state of being dominant; of prime importance; supremacy.
"The dominance of the new technology quickly overshadowed all previous methods in the industry."
In plain English: Dominance is when someone has more power or control over others and can make them do what they want.
"The tiger showed its dominance by walking slowly through the forest without any fear of other animals."
Usage: Avoid using this term to describe temporary leadership in casual conversation, as it implies a more permanent or absolute control than words like "authority" suggest. It is also often misused when writers confuse the abstract concept with specific instances of power held by an individual.
The word dominance comes from combining the root dominant with the suffix -ance to form a noun indicating the state of being dominant. It entered English by attaching these parts directly to describe the condition or quality of dominating others.