fructify

American  

[fruhk-tuh-fahy, frook-, frook-] / ˈfrʌk təˌfaɪ, ˈfrʊk-, ˈfruk- /

verb (used without object)

fructified, fructifying

1. to bear fruit; become fruitful.

   With careful tending the plant will fructify.

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verb (used with object)

fructified, fructifying

1. to make fruitful or productive; fertilize.

   warm spring rains fructifying the earth.

fructify British  

/ ˈfrʊk-, ˈfrʌktɪˌfaɪ /

verb

1. to bear or cause to bear fruit

2. to make or become productive or fruitful

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Other Word Forms

• fructifier noun
• superfructified adjective
• unfructified adjective

Etymology

Origin of fructify

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English fructifien, from Old French fructifier, from Latin frūctificāre; fructi-, -fy

Example Sentences

There were spawned out salmon on the banks, and the air smelled of fish in a marvelous fructifying funk that is the death that brings new life to the river.

From Seattle Times

And “Better Things” kept going, fructifying into a closely observed and deeply felt portrait of one woman’s over-full life.

From New York Times

The soil is darker than coffee grounds, inky, sweet and redolent of fructifying forest funk.

From Seattle Times

He wrote that politicians are often asked to lower taxes to “leave the money to fructify in the hands of the people.”

From The New Yorker

“We’re just starting to see that interest in the sport beginning to fructify now … this fight is bankable,” Nelson said.

From Los Angeles Times