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proliferate

Syllabification: (pro·lif·er·ate)
Pronunciation: /prəˈlifəˌrāt/
Translate proliferate | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of proliferate

verb

[no object]
  • increase rapidly in numbers; multiply:the science-fiction magazines that proliferated in the 1920s
  • (of a cell, structure, or organism) reproduce rapidly:the Mediterranean faces an ecological disaster if the seaweed continues to proliferate at its present rate
  • [with object] cause (cells, tissue, structures, etc.) to reproduce rapidly:electromagnetic radiation can only proliferate cancers already present

Derivatives

proliferative

Pronunciation: /-ˌrātiv/
adjective

proliferator

Pronunciation: /-ˌrātər/
noun

Origin:

late 19th century: back-formation from proliferation

proliferate in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of proliferate in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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