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

Especially as the space tourism industry continues to proliferate in the private sector, the appropriate levels of checks and balances required will have to be established. —Sai Balasubramanian, M.d., J.d., Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024

Washington should shift its approach away from focusing only on armed groups and instead examine the features of the political settlements that allow these groups to proliferate. —Renad Mansour, Foreign Affairs, 26 Mar. 2024

On the outskirts of Hanoi, new buildings seem to have proliferated like stucco mushrooms. —Chris Wallace, Travel + Leisure, 24 Mar. 2024

Those homes never materialized, and homelessness has proliferated steadily ever since. —Thomas Elias, The Mercury News, 22 Mar. 2024

Companies will be eager to hire these people, and many of the tech companies already have, but the trend is starting to proliferate in other sectors across corporate America. —Paolo Confino, Fortune, 29 Feb. 2024

When Simone Davies, the author of the popular book The Montessori Toddler, discovered the approach about 20 years ago, Montessori schools had already started to proliferate in the U.S. —Kate Cray, The Atlantic, 27 Feb. 2024

From there, the symbol began to proliferate in the region, popping up in modern-day Syria, Phoenicia and Israel. —Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 22 Feb. 2024

Meanwhile, restaurants and movie theaters proliferated, and car ownership exploded. —Faith Hill, The Atlantic, 19 Mar. 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