proliferate

[ pruh-lif-uh-reyt ]

See synonyms for proliferate on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with or without object),pro·lif·er·at·ed, pro·lif·er·at·ing.

to grow or produce by multiplication of parts, as in budding or cell division, or by procreation.
to increase in number or spread rapidly and often excessively.

Origin of proliferate

First recorded in 1870–75; prolifer(ous) + -ate¹

Other words from proliferate

pro·lif·er·a·tive, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use proliferate in a sentence

As Chesnut points out, Santa Muerte “has proliferated in a time of great death and dying in Mexico.”
America’s Fastest Growing Death Holiday Is From Mexico | Michael Schulson | November 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Always an integral part of television, comedians have proliferated as hosts on the small screen and beyond.
Comedy Bang! Bang!’s Flying Circus | Rich Goldstein | May 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
As with all trends, the look has since evolved and proliferated into a scary assortment of shapes and sizes.
Time to Abandon the Platform Heel | Misty White Sidell | June 20, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
As the months passed, solar panels, too, proliferated beneath his helicopter.
Earth Day 2012: New York Rooftop Photos by Alex MacLean | Rachel Small | April 22, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
The slander that he was a Nazi collaborator has proliferated on the right ever since.
Glenn Beck's Anti-Semitic Attacks | Michelle Goldberg | November 10, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST

At the edges the epithelium has proliferated and is covering over the newly formed granulation tissue.
Manual of Surgery | Alexis Thomson and Alexander Miles
The last two are probably the same process, the connective tissue having its origin in the proliferated endothelial cells.
Arteriosclerosis and Hypertension: | Louis Marshall Warfield
This cryptogamic growth is developed in the proliferated cells of epithelium.
A System of Practical Medicine By American Authors, Vol. II | Various
Powerful cities proliferated, inhabited by a class of burghers who engaged in trading.
After the Rain | Sam Vaknin
He proliferated titles for a time, and settled at last on "From Realism to Reality."
Marriage | H. G. Wells

British Dictionary definitions for proliferate

proliferate

/ (prəˈlɪfəˌreɪt) /

verb

to grow or reproduce (new parts, cells, etc) rapidly
to grow or increase or cause to grow or increase rapidly

Origin of proliferate

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

Derived forms of proliferate

proliferative, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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