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

Dictators and rogue states would be ascendant, nuclear weapons would proliferate, and the president-elect would never make good on his bluster about ending the war in Ukraine in 24 hours.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Today, the penacho on display in Vienna is the only surviving feathered headdress among the multitudes that once proliferated in the region.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Seven years ago the Supreme Court struck down a federal law that effectively banned sports betting in most states, which has since proliferated.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

That it chose not to is almost certainly down to its frustration then over the scam centres which had proliferated in areas controlled by clans allied to the junta.

Read more on BBC

The style allows “The Perfect Neighbor” to stand out from the pack of true crime documentaries and series proliferating streaming platforms, many of which are constructed with far less grace than Gandbhir’s film.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

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