proliferation

American  

[pruh-lif-uh-rey-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

Etymology

Origin of proliferation

First recorded in 1855–60; proliferate + -ion

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

Domingo’s own midlife — conversations about fiber and the proliferation of readers in every room aside — is enviable.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

How can we fight the proliferation of conspiracy theories?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

"This resulted in the proliferation of deals, nearly always with the 'other 14' clubs - Clubs who operate at much lower commercial fee levels than the global football brands," Maguire said.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

The Chinese competitive threat will take time to emerge fully and he believes the proliferation of leveraged exchange-traded funds within Korea explains much of the recent volatility in the share prices.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026

The proliferation of many similar languages in the Philippines and Indonesia merely reflects the fact that the islands never underwent a political and cultural unification, as did China.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

One of the many recent proliferations of an invasive species concerns the growth of Asian carp populations.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022

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

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

All the nerve-centres, cerebral, visceral, pedal and optic, are formed as proliferations of the ectoderm.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 6 "Celtes, Konrad" to "Ceramics" by Various