proliferate

verb

pro·​lif·​er·​ate prə-ˈli-fə-ˌrāt How to pronounce proliferate (audio)
proliferated; proliferating

intransitive verb

1
: to grow by rapid production of new parts, cells, buds, or offspring
2
: to increase in number as if by proliferating : multiply

transitive verb

1
: to cause to grow by proliferating
2
: to cause to increase in number or extent as if by proliferating
proliferation noun

Did you know?

Proliferate is a back-formation of proliferation. That means that proliferation came first (we borrowed it from French in the 18th century) and was later shortened to form the verb proliferate. Ultimately these terms come from Latin. The French adjective prolifère ("reproducing freely") comes from the Latin noun proles and the Latin combining form -fer. Proles means "offspring" or "descendants," and -fer means "bearing." Both of these Latin forms gave rise to numerous other English words. Prolific and proletarian ultimately come from proles; aquifer and words ending in -ferous have their roots in -fer.

Examples of proliferate in a Sentence

rumors about the incident proliferated on the Internet
Recent Examples on the Web Meanwhile, restaurants and movie theaters proliferated, and car ownership exploded. Faith Hill, The Atlantic, 19 Mar. 2024 Over the past decade or so, natural wine bars have proliferated around the Bay Area, clustered mainly in Oakland and San Francisco but slowly spreading to other communities in the region. Kate Bradshaw, The Mercury News, 19 Mar. 2024 For Olivia Hale, San Joaquin County’s chief election official, the timing of a rare case like Khan’s — as voter fraud conspiracies have proliferated across the country — has been a nightmare. Mackenzie Mays, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2024 Social movements, mass panic, and religious fervor proliferate. Inkoo Kang, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2024 Vast swaths of the United States are at risk of running short of power as electricity-hungry data centers and clean-technology factories proliferate around the country, leaving utilities and regulators grasping for credible plans to expand the nation’s creaking power grid. Evan Halper, Washington Post, 7 Mar. 2024 Recently, police camera surveillance systems with facial recognition technology have proliferated amongst greater Dearborn’s schools and storefronts — despite Department of Justice studies questioning their effectiveness. Eli Cahan, Rolling Stone, 7 Mar. 2024 Similar efforts have proliferated at universities across the nation as schools wrestle with a series of high-profile hate incidents. USA TODAY, 4 Mar. 2024 Sensors are better than ever and have proliferated widely—Ukraine has access to radar satellites, capable of spotting Russian tanks in woodland, that most large military powers could only have dreamed of 25 years ago. Shashank Joshi, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'proliferate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

back-formation from proliferation, from French prolifération, from proliférer to proliferate, from prolifère reproducing freely, from Latin proles + -fer -ferous

First Known Use

1866, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of proliferate was in 1866

Dictionary Entries Near proliferate

Cite this Entry

“Proliferate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proliferate. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

proliferate

verb
pro·​lif·​er·​ate prə-ˈlif-ə-ˌrāt How to pronounce proliferate (audio)
proliferated; proliferating
: to grow or increase rapidly
proliferation noun

Medical Definition

proliferate

verb
pro·​lif·​er·​ate prə-ˈlif-ə-ˌrāt How to pronounce proliferate (audio)
proliferated; proliferating

intransitive verb

: to grow by rapid production of new parts, cells, buds, or offspring

transitive verb

: to cause to grow by proliferating

More from Merriam-Webster on proliferate

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