proliferate

[pruh-lif-uh-reyt]

verb (used with or without object)

proliferated, proliferating 

1. to grow or produce by multiplication of parts, as in budding or cell division, or by procreation.

2. to increase in number or spread rapidly and often excessively.

proliferate

/ prəˈlɪfəˌreɪt /

verb

1. to grow or reproduce (new parts, cells, etc) rapidly

2. to grow or increase or cause to grow or increase rapidly

Other Word Forms

• proliferative adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of proliferate¹

First recorded in 1870–75; prolifer(ous) + -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of proliferate¹

C19: from Medieval Latin prōlifer having offspring, from Latin prōlēs offspring + ferre to bear

Example Sentences

“It has proliferated to a point where now it’s a negative signal instead of a positive,” said Alessio.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Literature about work proliferated partly because of “the fluidity of American labor,” says Nancy Koehn, a historian at Harvard Business School.

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Since the advent of AI generative platforms dedicated to music, such as Suno or Udio, songs entirely created with artificial intelligence have been proliferating on streaming platforms.

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This isn’t exactly far from the kind of inextricability between an actor and their character that typically proliferates early Oscar campaigns.

Read more on Salon

As the chits of losers proliferate, the members, seeking new cash, may admit outside players.

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Related Words

• breed 
• burgeon 
• escalate 
• generate 
• multiply 
• mushroom 
• propagate 
• reproduce 
• snowball