as in infectious
exciting a similar feeling or reaction in others
spreading enthusiasm that got our club rolling again
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in disseminating
to cause to be known over a considerable area or by many people
spread the news!
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in applying
to put a layer of on a surface
we spread the fertilizer over the lawn evenly until it was fully covered
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in circulating
to become known
once news of the war's end had spread, spontaneous celebrations broke out everywhere
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in transmitting
to cause (something) to pass from one to another
living conditions that help to spread chicken pox
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in separating
to go or move in different directions from a central point
the walls of the old barn spread under the weight of the snow on the roof
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in increasing
to become greater in size, extent, volume, amount, or number
dissatisfaction with the new administration is spreading rapidly
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of spreading
Ramon Padilla, USA Today, 29 May 2026
When someone dies of Ebola, their body continues to be highly contagious for seven or so days, with the virus spreading through bodily fluids.
—Gabrielle Emanuel, NPR, 29 May 2026
At the scene, Kilduff and his crew stopped flames, shooting through the roof of a three-decker on Treadway Road, from spreading to adjacent houses, saving property and possibly even more lives.
—Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 29 May 2026
Almario favors adding multilingual alerts for those facing an impending disaster, such as a spreading fire or a toxic gas leak.
—Steve Scauzillo, Daily News, 29 May 2026
Avoid crowds when viruses are spreading.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 29 May 2026
Outbreak spreading faster than response The outbreak continues to spread faster than the response, despite health facilities becoming more organized and more equipment arriving.
—Jean-Yves Kamale, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2026
Andersen was involved in developing diagnostics and conducted genomic sequencing of Ebola virus genomes during past outbreaks to learn how the virus was evolving and spreading.
—Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 29 May 2026
Plus, an outbreak of Ebola is spreading.
—Claire Malon, Chicago Tribune, 23 May 2026
Verb
Speaking of spreading the floor, Wembanyama has 20 more 3-point field goals at the end of his third season than all-time NBA 3-point leader Stephen Curry.
—Ramon Padilla, USA Today, 29 May 2026
When someone dies of Ebola, their body continues to be highly contagious for seven or so days, with the virus spreading through bodily fluids.
—Gabrielle Emanuel, NPR, 29 May 2026
At the scene, Kilduff and his crew stopped flames, shooting through the roof of a three-decker on Treadway Road, from spreading to adjacent houses, saving property and possibly even more lives.
—Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 29 May 2026
Almario favors adding multilingual alerts for those facing an impending disaster, such as a spreading fire or a toxic gas leak.
—Steve Scauzillo, Daily News, 29 May 2026
Avoid crowds when viruses are spreading.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 29 May 2026
Outbreak spreading faster than response The outbreak continues to spread faster than the response, despite health facilities becoming more organized and more equipment arriving.
—Jean-Yves Kamale, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2026
Andersen was involved in developing diagnostics and conducted genomic sequencing of Ebola virus genomes during past outbreaks to learn how the virus was evolving and spreading.
—Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 29 May 2026
Plus, an outbreak of Ebola is spreading.
—Claire Malon, Chicago Tribune, 23 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spreading
Adjective
-
Changing litter daily can also limit exposure as toxoplasma eggs need 1 to 5 days to become infectious.—
Dr. Megan Yanny,
Boston Herald,
31 May 2026
-
But the energy of the production is infectious.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
30 May 2026
Verb
-
The channels for packaging and disseminating information about the environmental and performance benefits of cotton apparel have evolved as well.—
Angela Velasquez,
Footwear News,
28 May 2026
-
Questions concern how the courts would assess who or what might be responsible for faulty algorithms or other flaws in system design and whether a robot was negligent or malicious when disseminating libelous content damaging individuals or organizations.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
28 May 2026
Verb
-
Ohio’s exemption is fairly broad, applying not only to construction materials, but to the expensive equipment — such as server racks and cooling systems — used in data centers.—
Marc Levy,
Fortune,
29 May 2026
-
Travelers who have spent the past several years scrutinizing where their food, clothing and home goods come from are now applying the same questions to their vacation memorabilia.—
Hanna Wickes,
Kansas City Star,
29 May 2026
Verb
-
Two videos soon began circulating on social media showing a contestant, Vasana Montgomery, appearing to say the N-word on camera — once while singing a song and another time while yelling at an arcade game.—
Angela Yang,
NBC news,
31 May 2026
-
Soon after, speculation around a project called Benito Antonio, his birth name, began circulating across fashion and entertainment media.—
Esade Business & Law School,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
Verb
-
But while looking at the physics of transmitting data through muscle and bone, the team had an epiphany.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
1 June 2026
-
Notably, there were three more instances from April 10 to 13 where the AIS wasn't transmitting data.—
Adam Sabes,
FOXNews.com,
27 May 2026
Verb
-
The security perimeter kept demonstrators at a distance from the facility, with barricades and checkpoints separating roughly 100 protesters from the detention center.—
Adam Reiss,
NBC news,
31 May 2026
-
Historical memory is hugely helpful in separating false promises from sincere innovation, and that should make living legends ideal for steadying progress.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
31 May 2026
Verb
-
The pacemaker transformed cardiac medicine by dramatically increasing survival rates for patients with arrhythmias and heart block, becoming one of the most important life-saving medical technologies ever created.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
28 May 2026
-
Rain and storm chances are increasing in the afternoon.—
Garfield Hylton,
The Orlando Sentinel,
28 May 2026
Verb
-
Also known as asexual reproduction, propagating fruits and vegetables allows gardeners to bypass difficult seed germination.—
Asia London Palomba,
The Spruce,
31 May 2026
-
Not simply a catalog of assets, but an event-aware system capable of understanding relationships, propagating policy, detecting drift, tracing downstream impact, enforcing governance rules and providing runtime context to both humans and machines.—
Emma McGrattan,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spreading.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spreading. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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