propagate

[ prop-uh-geyt ]

/ ˈprɒp əˌgeɪt /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: propagate / propagated / propagates / propagating on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), prop·a·gat·ed, prop·a·gat·ing.

to cause (an organism) to multiply by any process of natural reproduction from the parent stock.

to reproduce (itself, its kind, etc.), as an organism does.

to transmit (hereditary features or elements) to, or through, offspring.

to spread (a report, doctrine, practice, etc.) from person to person; disseminate.

to cause to increase in number or amount.

to create (an effect) at a distance, as by electromagnetic waves, compression waves, etc., traveling through space or a physical medium; transmit: to propagate sound.

to spread (a disease) from one individual to another: Dr. John Atlee believed believed that filthy living conditions probably propagated cholera.

Computers. to cause (an update or other alteration) to take effect throughout a network of devices:The active master database replicates updates to the standby master database, which propagates the updates to the subscribers.

verb (used without object), prop·a·gat·ed, prop·a·gat·ing.

to multiply by any process of natural reproduction, as organisms; breed.

to increase in extent, as a structural flaw: The crack will propagate only to this joint.

(of electromagnetic waves, compression waves, etc.) to travel through space or a physical medium.

Computers. to take effect throughout a network of devices.

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of propagate

First recorded in 1560–70; from Latin propāgātus (past participle of propāgāre “to reproduce (a plant) by cuttings, spread for sprouting, propagate, enlarge),” equivalent to propāg(ēs) “something set out, scion, slip” (pro- pro-¹ + pāg-, base of pangere “to fasten” + -ēs noun suffix) + -ātus -ate¹

OTHER WORDS FROM propagate

prop·a·ga·tive, prop·a·ga·to·ry

[prop-uh-guh-tawr-ee], /ˈprɒp ə gəˌtɔr i/, adjectiveprop·a·ga·tor, nounnon·prop·a·ga·tive, adjectiveself-prop·a·gat·ing, adjective

un·prop·a·ga·tive, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use propagate in a sentence

A Utah State University team has measured just how rapidly breath droplets from a person speaking or coughing propagate in a room—a result that could help hospitals decide where to place equipment or patients’ beds.
America needs a National Guard for scientists|matthewheimer|December 16, 2020|Fortune
The strong selection amounted to optically sorting and propagating into the next generation only the top 20 percent of green fluorescing organisms.
Playing Go with Darwin - Issue 94: Evolving|David Krakauer|December 16, 2020|Nautilus
The mathematics behind a single soliton propagating on its own is relatively simple, but it grows more complicated when solitons cross each other.
A Mathematician’s Unanticipated Journey Through the Physical World|Kevin Hartnett|December 16, 2020|Quanta Magazine
These animals—what Genus calls “elite germplasm”—are then propagated via breeding on “multiplier farms” and purchased by producers everywhere from Iowa to Beijing, who breed them still further.
Gene editing has made pigs immune to a deadly epidemic|Katie McLean|December 11, 2020|MIT Technology Review

By doing that, you, Steve and Courttia Wright did something that is slowly happening more on film — creating scenes not propagated by impending violence.
‘Lovers Rock’—The Story Behind The Music In Steve McQueen’s Tribute To Reggae|cmurray|November 28, 2020|Essence.com
The publicity the family propagates for itself engenders a kind of madness, it has to in order to maintain itself.
The Cult of Royal Porn|Tim Teeman|April 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They are yielding new insights into the way the shock front propagates in these really complex environments.
How a Thumb-Sized Gauge Is Revolutionizing Traumatic Brain Injuries|Brian Castner|March 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That's all fine and dandy, except that it propagates a potentially false story from an unsavory source.
How Israeli Government Officials Fueled A Conspiracy Website Story About Iran|Ali Gharib|January 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Besides the whole species is subjected to man, who propagates and multiplies it as much as he pleases.
Buffon's Natural History. Volume VIII (of 10)|Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon
Greece, artistic before becoming a trader, propagates by her colonies her mind and her ideas.
History of Julius Caesar Vol. 1 of 2|Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, 1808-1873.
Experience shows that it thrives and propagates best in the soil of materialism.
The War Upon Religion|Rev. Francis A. Cunningham
The high, inaccessible cliffs of Scotland and Ireland are the places where this noble bird propagates its race.
Birds' Nests, Eggs and Egg-Collecting|Richard Kearton
The salutary influence which good example propagates, we find stamped on every avocation in life.
Gathering Jewels|James Knowles and Matilda Darroch Knowles

British Dictionary definitions for propagate

propagate

/ (ˈprɒpəˌɡeɪt) /

verb

biology to reproduce or cause to reproduce; breed

(tr) horticulture to produce (plants) by layering, grafting, cuttings, etc

(tr) to promulgate; disseminate

physics to move through, cause to move through, or transmit, esp in the form of a waveto propagate sound

(tr) to transmit (characteristics) from one generation to the next

Derived forms of propagate

propagation, nounpropagational, adjectivepropagative, adjective

Word Origin for propagate

C16: from Latin propāgāre to increase (plants) by cuttings, from propāgēs a cutting, from pangere to fasten

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

Medical definitions for propagate

propagate

[ prŏp′ə-gāt′ ]

To cause an organism to multiply or breed.

To breed offspring.

To transmit characteristics from one generation to another.

To cause to move in some direction or through a medium, such as a wave or nerve impulse.

propagate

Origin of propagate

OTHER WORDS FROM propagate

Words related to propagate

How to use propagate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for propagate

Derived forms of propagate

Word Origin for propagate

Medical definitions for propagate