prolific
adjective
pro·lif·ic
prə-ˈli-fik 
1
: marked by abundant inventiveness or productivity
a prolific composer
And over the course of her prolific career, [Alice] Walker has gone on to write over 40 genre-spanning books.—
Rayna Reid Rayford
Rayna Reid Rayford2
: producing young or fruit especially freely : fruitful
The half-inch blooms are round and prolific, borne atop leafy stems.—Adrian Higgins
Adrian Higgins3
archaic
: causing abundant growth, generation, or reproduction
Examples of prolific in a Sentence
Since [David] Mamet is a prolific writer of Hollywood screenplays, there are today more people who know his work than know that they know it.
—Juliet Fleming, Times Literary Supplement, 18 Feb. 2000
The main rival to his pneumonia was the prolific thrush which went into his throat and stomach.
—Irvine Welsh, Trainspotting, 1993
A writer as established and prolific as Joyce Carol Oates can approach her material in a wealth of ways unavailable to the more plodding.
—Jane Smiley, New York Times Book Review, 5 May 1991
Here there are … restaurants, wine bars, bookshops, estate agents more prolific than doctors, and attractive people in black, few of them aging.
—Hanif Kureishi, Granta 22, Autumn 1987
a famously prolific author who could produce several works of fiction and nonfiction a year
Juliet Fleming, Times Literary Supplement, 18 Feb. 2000
The main rival to his pneumonia was the prolific thrush which went into his throat and stomach.
—Irvine Welsh, Trainspotting, 1993
A writer as established and prolific as Joyce Carol Oates can approach her material in a wealth of ways unavailable to the more plodding.
—Jane Smiley, New York Times Book Review, 5 May 1991
Here there are … restaurants, wine bars, bookshops, estate agents more prolific than doctors, and attractive people in black, few of them aging.
—Hanif Kureishi, Granta 22, Autumn 1987
a famously prolific author who could produce several works of fiction and nonfiction a year
Recent Examples on the Web
The staff joked that Big Papi, a prolific breeder, was Strickland’s boyfriend.
—Ava Kofman, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
Ladd enjoyed a prolific career on stage and screen.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 3 Nov. 2025
Her largest individual donation came from prolific local developer David Longo, who contributed more than $7,000.
—Charlotte Observer, 2 Nov. 2025
Shinsuke Sato has given a significant portion of his professional career to the Netflix Japan sci-fi series Alice in Borderland, a situation that is no mean feat given how prolific the Japanese filmmaker has been in recent years, regularly releasing one or perhaps two feature films a year.
—Abid Rahman, HollywoodReporter, 2 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prolific
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Ava Kofman, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
Ladd enjoyed a prolific career on stage and screen.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 3 Nov. 2025
Her largest individual donation came from prolific local developer David Longo, who contributed more than $7,000.
—Charlotte Observer, 2 Nov. 2025
Shinsuke Sato has given a significant portion of his professional career to the Netflix Japan sci-fi series Alice in Borderland, a situation that is no mean feat given how prolific the Japanese filmmaker has been in recent years, regularly releasing one or perhaps two feature films a year.
—Abid Rahman, HollywoodReporter, 2 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prolific
Cite this Entry
“Prolific.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prolific. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
prolific
adjective
pro·lif·ic
prə-ˈlif-ik
1
: producing young or fruit in large numbers
a prolific orchard
2
: highly inventive : productive
a prolific writer
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