proliferate

verb

pro·​lif·​er·​ate prə-ˈli-fə-ˌrāt 

proliferated; proliferating

intransitive verb

1

: to grow by rapid production of new parts, cells, buds, or offspring

2

: to increase in number as if by proliferating : multiply

transitive verb

1

: to cause to grow by proliferating

2

: to cause to increase in number or extent as if by proliferating

proliferation

prə-ˌli-fə-ˈrā-shən 

noun

proliferative

prə-ˈli-fə-ˌrā-tiv  prə-ˈli-f(ə-)rə-tiv 

adjective

Did you know?

Proliferate is a back-formation of proliferation. That means that proliferation came first (we borrowed it from French in the 18th century) and was later shortened to form the verb proliferate. Ultimately these terms come from Latin. The French adjective prolifère ("reproducing freely") comes from the Latin noun proles and the Latin combining form -fer. Proles means "offspring" or "descendants," and -fer means "bearing." Both of these Latin forms gave rise to numerous other English words. Prolific and proletarian ultimately come from proles; aquifer and words ending in -ferous have their roots in -fer.

Synonyms

• accelerate
• accumulate
• appreciate
• balloon
• boom
• build up
• burgeon
• bourgeon
• climb
• enlarge
• escalate
• expand
• gain
• increase
• mount
• multiply
• mushroom
• rise
• roll up
• snowball
• spread
• swell
• wax

Examples of proliferate in a Sentence

rumors about the incident proliferated on the Internet

Recent Examples on the Web

With the creation of the Laff Box, in the early ’50s, canned laughs proliferated to the point that even shows without the slightest pretense of having been performed for a live studio audience used laugh tracks. —Jacob Stern, The Atlantic, 15 Apr. 2024

But many are still missing, and kidnappings in Nigeria have proliferated. —Ruth MacLean, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2024

But financial professionals caution against following advice proliferating on the social media platform that might be unsound. —Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 12 Apr. 2024

Since then, some social media platforms have sought to tighten scrutiny of hostile state actors, but disinformation campaigns still proliferate. —Joseph Menn, Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2024

Meanwhile, brown rat samples proliferated over the same time period. —Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 3 Apr. 2024

Of course, plenty of fakes and cheap imitators are proliferating the online marketplace in the leadup to the eclipse. —Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 30 Mar. 2024

Add to that forthcoming country albums from Mrs. Carter and Lana Del Rey, chaps proliferating fall 2024 collections, and the horse girl-ification of Bella Hadid amid her romance with cowboy Adan Banuelos. —Amber Elliott, Vogue, 18 Mar. 2024

Deepfake video content is proliferating across the Internet. —Charles Bethea, The New Yorker, 7 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from proliferation, from French prolifération, from proliférer to proliferate, from prolifère reproducing freely, from Latin proles + -fer -ferous

First Known Use

1866, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Kids Definition

proliferate

verb

pro·​lif·​er·​ate prə-ˈlif-ə-ˌrāt 

proliferated; proliferating

: to grow or increase rapidly

proliferation

-ˌlif-ə-ˈrā-shən 

noun

Medical Definition

proliferate

verb

pro·​lif·​er·​ate prə-ˈlif-ə-ˌrāt 

proliferated; proliferating

intransitive verb

: to grow by rapid production of new parts, cells, buds, or offspring

transitive verb

: to cause to grow by proliferating