proliferation

American  

[pruh-lif-uh-ray-shuhn] / prəˌlɪf əˈreɪ ʃən /

noun

• proliferations
  plural

1. the growth or production of cells by multiplication of parts.

2. a rapid and often excessive spread or increase.

   nuclear proliferation.

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proliferation British  

/ prəˌlɪfəˈreɪʃən /

noun

1. rapid growth or reproduction of new parts, cells, etc

2. rapid growth or increase in numbers

3. a great number

   done up in a proliferation of fancy frills

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• proliferations
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of proliferation

First recorded in 1855–60; proliferate + -ion

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Explanation

Proliferation is a rapid multiplication of parts or the increase in the number of something. Nuclear proliferation is a rapid increase of nuclear weapons. The proliferation of any living thing will often create an overpopulation problem and cause an environmental imbalance. A proliferation of fuzzy koala bears might seem kind of nice, but these cute little creatures would soon eat up all the eucalyptus, running out of food and causing problems for other species. We almost always use this word to describe stuff we don't want to increase rapidly. The excessive proliferation of mutated cells, for instance, is how cancer grows.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

proliferation proliferations

"The proliferation of those struck me," Vara told Front Row, adding that the story also had a lot of metaphors, also prevalent in writing generated by AI.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

The proliferation of prediction markets has created a new temptation for knowledgeable insiders to try to cash in on proprietary information.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

This corner of the chip market has seen momentum in recent months, driven in part by the proliferation of AI agents, or services that can act autonomously on behalf of users.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026

Otherwise, a repair response could turn into uncontrolled proliferation.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026

To Clement, the proliferation of names suggests the plant was used for many purposes by many cultures.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Though cyanobacteria is a naturally occurring microorganism, sometimes conditions conspire to create huge proliferations called blooms that can create problems that range from obnoxious to toxic.

From Washington Times ● Sep. 19, 2020

Gen. Jeff Sessions to adopt website regulations, saying the absence of such regulations “only fuels the proliferations of these suits.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2018

One of the many recent proliferations of an invasive species concerns the Asian carp in the United States.

From Textbooks ● Sep. 6, 2018

There’s a tendency in prequels and sequels and the like to make things tidy, which Ryman’s proliferations of Dorothys and Scarecrows is not.

From Slate ● Jul. 11, 2014

Changes somewhat analogous to those found in the human aorta as the result of intimal proliferations, are produced in animals by the toxins of the typhoid bacillus and the Streptococcus pyogenes.

From Arteriosclerosis and Hypertension: with Chapters on Blood Pressure, 3rd Edition. by Louis Marshall Warfield

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