proliferate
verb
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.
Examples of proliferate in a Sentence
Amy Feldman, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025
As in World War I, military bases proliferated, shipbuilding increased, and armament factories popped up all over the state.
—Michael Barnes, Austin American Statesman, 15 July 2025
Conservative ETFs — and virtue-signaling funds of all political stripes — are proliferating in the Trump age.
—semafor.com, 8 July 2025
Funding for private school vouchers however, continue to proliferate unabated in the state.
—Clara-Sophia Daly, Miami Herald, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for proliferate
Cite this Entry
“Proliferate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proliferate. Accessed 23 Jul. 2025.
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proliferate
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proliferate
verb
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