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
Russ Wiles, USA Today, 18 Apr. 2025
With their former predators out of the picture, purple sea urchins proliferated.
—Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2025
These claims proliferated online, until Evans addressed them on TikTok, followed by an exclusive interview with Brazo & Blaze.
—Taylor Crumpton, Essence, 11 Apr. 2025
Pests and diseases also proliferate during hotter months, requiring careful monitoring and timely intervention.
—Renny Vandewege, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 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 3 May. 2025.
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proliferate
verb
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proliferate
verb
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