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
Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 2 Sep. 2025
Since that time, such attacks have proliferated, with ransomware gangs going after both individual practices and software vendors within the dental ecosystem.
—Tarun Eldho Alias, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Players and coaches have long acknowledged Villa require freshness — a feeling that proliferated with each passing week.
—Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2025
As tools proliferate and expectations rise, organizations risk eroding trust, productivity, and emotional well-being unless this issue is addressed head-on.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 29 Aug. 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 9 Sep. 2025.
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proliferate
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proliferate
verb
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