prolific
adjective
pro·lif·ic
prə-ˈli-fik 
1
: marked by abundant inventiveness or productivity
a prolific composer
And over the course of her prolific career, [Alice] Walker has gone on to write over 40 genre-spanning books.—
Rayna Reid Rayford
Rayna Reid Rayford2
: producing young or fruit especially freely : fruitful
The half-inch blooms are round and prolific, borne atop leafy stems.—Adrian Higgins
Adrian Higgins3
archaic
: causing abundant growth, generation, or reproduction
Examples of prolific in a Sentence
Since [David] Mamet is a prolific writer of Hollywood screenplays, there are today more people who know his work than know that they know it.
—Juliet Fleming, Times Literary Supplement, 18 Feb. 2000
The main rival to his pneumonia was the prolific thrush which went into his throat and stomach.
—Irvine Welsh, Trainspotting, 1993
A writer as established and prolific as Joyce Carol Oates can approach her material in a wealth of ways unavailable to the more plodding.
—Jane Smiley, New York Times Book Review, 5 May 1991
Here there are … restaurants, wine bars, bookshops, estate agents more prolific than doctors, and attractive people in black, few of them aging.
—Hanif Kureishi, Granta 22, Autumn 1987
a famously prolific author who could produce several works of fiction and nonfiction a year
Juliet Fleming, Times Literary Supplement, 18 Feb. 2000
The main rival to his pneumonia was the prolific thrush which went into his throat and stomach.
—Irvine Welsh, Trainspotting, 1993
A writer as established and prolific as Joyce Carol Oates can approach her material in a wealth of ways unavailable to the more plodding.
—Jane Smiley, New York Times Book Review, 5 May 1991
Here there are … restaurants, wine bars, bookshops, estate agents more prolific than doctors, and attractive people in black, few of them aging.
—Hanif Kureishi, Granta 22, Autumn 1987
a famously prolific author who could produce several works of fiction and nonfiction a year
Recent Examples on the Web
The list of the most prolific SNL hosts is still strongly dominated by actor Alec Baldwin, who between 1991 and 2011 has hosted the show a record 17 times.
—Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Dec. 2025
It was started in 1995 by libertarians Justin Raimondo, a prolific polemicist who died in 2019, and editor Eric Garris, with occasional pieces turning into daily updates in April 1998.
—John Seiler, Oc Register, 7 Dec. 2025
Ruggles is one of the region’s most prolific architects and known widely as an advocate of classical design.
—Ray Mark Rinaldi, Denver Post, 7 Dec. 2025
Podziemski was not statistically prolific, but still had a respectable 10 points and two assists off the bench.
—Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 7 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prolific
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Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Dec. 2025
It was started in 1995 by libertarians Justin Raimondo, a prolific polemicist who died in 2019, and editor Eric Garris, with occasional pieces turning into daily updates in April 1998.
—John Seiler, Oc Register, 7 Dec. 2025
Ruggles is one of the region’s most prolific architects and known widely as an advocate of classical design.
—Ray Mark Rinaldi, Denver Post, 7 Dec. 2025
Podziemski was not statistically prolific, but still had a respectable 10 points and two assists off the bench.
—Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 7 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prolific
Cite this Entry
“Prolific.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prolific. Accessed 11 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
prolific
adjective
pro·lif·ic
prə-ˈlif-ik
1
: producing young or fruit in large numbers
a prolific orchard
2
: highly inventive : productive
a prolific writer
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