proliferate

verb pro·lif·er·ate \ prə-ˈli-fə-ˌrāt \

Updated on: 15 May 2018

Definition of proliferate

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

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proliferation

play \prə-ˌli-fə-ˈrā-shən\ noun

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proliferative

play \prə-ˈli-fə-ˌrā-tiv, prə-ˈli-f(ə-)rə-tiv\ adjective

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Examples of proliferate in a Sentence

rumors about the incident proliferated on the Internet

Recent Examples of proliferate from the Web

Lars Rensmann, who studies anti-Semitism and populism at the University of Groningen, thinks anti-Jewish hatred has not proliferated so much as grown more visible with the rise of social media.

— The Economist, "Anti-Semitism in Europe may not in fact be rising," 3 May 2018
The Star has successfully gained traction among the Tennessee political elite, raising questions over whether the current news climate is ripe for these type of Breitbart-like local sites to proliferate across the country.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "‘Baby Breitbarts’ Might Be the Future of Local Newspapers," 1 May 2018
One hypothesis suggests that chokingly low oxygen levels kept insect diversity from soaring during the gap and that these creatures proliferated only once the life-giving gas increased.

— lucas joel, Scientific American, "Mysterious Insect Fossil Gap Explained," 1 May 2018
And, to run its own summer recruiting events in a attempt to water down or eliminate AAU/shoe company showcases that now proliferate and where many of the cheating is done.

— elton alexander, cleveland.com, "College Basketball Corruption: Commission report calls for changes, tells NCAA to clean itself up," 25 Apr. 2018
As coffee shops proliferate across the U.K., Costa has found growth harder to come by in a maturing market.

— sam chambers, Bloomberg.com, "Whitbread to Set Costa Coffee Free to Take On Starbucks," 25 Apr. 2018
With postwar economic growth and the rise of corporate culture, ie households became less common, while apartment-dwelling nuclear households—consisting of a salaryman, a housewife, and their children—proliferated.

— kathryn schulz, The New Yorker, "Japan’s Rent-a-Family Industry," 23 Apr. 2018
But the voracious electricity demand of Iceland’s proliferating data centers is testing the island nation’s environmental ethos.

— zeke turner, WSJ, "Iceland Takes Hard Look at Tech Boom Sparked by Its Cheap, Bountiful Power," 19 Apr. 2018
The total population is difficult to pin down, but the southern portion of the state has reeled from proliferating numbers.

— todd masson, NOLA.com, "Every idiot at a tackle store," 14 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'proliferate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Proliferate came about in 1873 as a back-formation of "proliferation." That means that "proliferation" came first (we borrowed it from French in the 1850s) 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."

Origin and Etymology of proliferate

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1866

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

See Words from the same year