proliferate

verb

pro·​lif·​er·​ate prə-ˈli-fə-ˌrāt 

proliferated; proliferating

intransitive verb

1

: to grow by rapid production of new parts, cells, buds, or offspring

2

: to increase in number as if by proliferating : multiply

transitive verb

1

: to cause to grow by proliferating

2

: to cause to increase in number or extent as if by proliferating

proliferation

prə-ˌli-fə-ˈrā-shən 

noun

proliferative

prə-ˈli-fə-ˌrā-tiv  prə-ˈli-f(ə-)rə-tiv 

adjective

Did you know?

Proliferate is a back-formation of proliferation. That means that proliferation came first (we borrowed it from French in the 18th century) and was later shortened to form the verb proliferate. Ultimately these terms come from Latin. The French adjective prolifère ("reproducing freely") comes from the Latin noun proles and the Latin combining form -fer. Proles means "offspring" or "descendants," and -fer means "bearing." Both of these Latin forms gave rise to numerous other English words. Prolific and proletarian ultimately come from proles; aquifer and words ending in -ferous have their roots in -fer.

Synonyms

• accelerate
• accumulate
• appreciate
• balloon
• boom
• build up
• burgeon
• bourgeon
• climb
• enlarge
• escalate
• expand
• gain
• increase
• mount
• multiply
• mushroom
• rise
• roll up
• snowball
• spread
• swell
• wax

Examples of proliferate in a Sentence

rumors about the incident proliferated on the Internet

Recent Examples on the Web

Unfortunately, what no one anticipated was the carp’s ability to migrate and proliferate, and within a few decades of introduction, their range had expanded rapidly. —Joe Cermele, Field & Stream, 25 Apr. 2024

Such videos have proliferated in the last few years with the rise of injectable prescription drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro, which many people are using to shed weight quickly. —Andrea Chang, Los Angeles Times, 25 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from proliferation, from French prolifération, from proliférer to proliferate, from prolifère reproducing freely, from Latin proles + -fer -ferous

First Known Use

1866, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Kids Definition

proliferate

verb

pro·​lif·​er·​ate prə-ˈlif-ə-ˌrāt 

proliferated; proliferating

: to grow or increase rapidly

proliferation

-ˌlif-ə-ˈrā-shən 

noun

Medical Definition

proliferate

verb

pro·​lif·​er·​ate prə-ˈlif-ə-ˌrāt 

proliferated; proliferating

intransitive verb

: to grow by rapid production of new parts, cells, buds, or offspring

transitive verb

: to cause to grow by proliferating