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

2

: producing young or fruit especially freely : fruitful

The half-inch blooms are round and prolific, borne atop leafy stems.

—Adrian Higgins

3

archaic : causing abundant growth, generation, or reproduction

prolificacy

prə-ˈli-fi-kə-sē 

noun

prolifically

prə-ˈli-fi-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

prolificness

prə-ˈli-fik-nəs 

noun

Synonyms of prolific

• fertile
• rich

Choose the Right Synonym for prolific

fertile, fecund, fruitful, prolific mean producing or capable of producing offspring or fruit.

fertile implies the power to reproduce in kind or to assist in reproduction and growth

fertile soil

; applied figuratively, it suggests readiness of invention and development.

a fertile imagination

fecund emphasizes abundance or rapidity in bearing fruit or offspring.

a fecund herd

fruitful adds to fertile and fecund the implication of desirable or useful results.

fruitful research

prolific stresses rapidity of spreading or multiplying by or as if by natural reproduction.

a prolific writer

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

Recent Examples on the Web

That trio formed one of the NFL’s most prolific passing offenses for a while, especially in 2023 when Tagovailoa lead the league in passing yards and Hill in receiving yards while Waddle went for 1,014 yards. —David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 17 Mar. 2026

Commissioned in 2000 by director/producer and prolific architectural preservationist Michael LaFetra, the midcentury gem was completed posthumously in 2012 by architect James Tyler, closely in keeping with Koenig’s original blueprints and plans. —Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 16 Mar. 2026

Jordan and Coogler have emerged in recent years as one of Hollywood's most prolific duos and now have the hardware to show for it. —Rebecca Cohen, NBC news, 16 Mar. 2026

The prolific English actor and musician will serve as the official announcer at this year's Academy Awards ceremony. —Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

French prolifique, from Middle French, from Latin proles + Middle French -figue -fic

First Known Use

1635, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for prolific

• horrific
• pacific
• salvific
• specific
• terrific
• calorific
• conspecific
• hieroglyphic
• honorific
• nonspecific
• scientific
• soporific

Kids 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

prolifically

-ˈlif-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb