proliferate
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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to grow or produce by multiplication of parts, as in budding or cell division, or by procreation.
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to increase in number or spread rapidly and often excessively.
verb
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to grow or reproduce (new parts, cells, etc) rapidly
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to grow or increase or cause to grow or increase rapidly
Other Word Forms
- proliferative adjective
Etymology
Origin of proliferate
First recorded in 1870–75; prolifer(ous) + -ate 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The label said it had "a duty to speak up" and "encourage public discourse", because AI is proliferating at an "alarming rate and substantially outpacing regulation".
From BBC
That dynamic extends to the subscription models proliferating everywhere.
Over the last year, banks and other financial services firms have made it easier for small investors to buy crypto — exchange traded funds and firms that have constructed themselves as crypto treasuries have proliferated.
From Los Angeles Times
A new report looks at grade inflation, a problem that is proliferating far beyond the Ivy League.
“It has proliferated to a point where now it’s a negative signal instead of a positive,” said Alessio.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
