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 1700s), and was later shortened to form the verb. Proliferation originally referred to the botanical phenomenon of some plants having buds, flowers, or other parts that are adventitious—that is, that arise or occur sporadically or in other than the usual location (e.g. pitch pines’ ability to sprout new trees directly from their stumps after a fire). With advances in the study of biology in the 1800s, proliferation came to be used to refer to the rapid and repeated production of cells by division. That sense in turn begat the verb proliferate, which eventually came to be used when anything—whether living (such as yeast) or nonliving (such as data)—quickly increases or multiplies.

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

That hasn’t stopped RT articles from proliferating across hundreds of other websites widely available in Europe, according to a recent report from the German Marshall Fund of the United States, the University of Amsterdam and the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. —Shannon Bond, NPR, 6 June 2024

Prosecutors told the judge that New Mexico is not seeking to hold Meta accountable for its content but rather its role in pushing out that content through complex algorithms that proliferate material that can be sensational, addictive and harmful. —Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 31 May 2024

As recently as this week, false reports about jury instructions proliferated across right-wing media, leading to more threats against Judge Juan Merchan. —Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2024

By the time another century passed, many of the mosques proliferating across Syria and Egypt had built towers for the call to prayer. —Jonathan M. Pitts, Baltimore Sun, 24 May 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

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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