proliferate

verb

prə-ˈli-fə-ˌrāt How to pronounce proliferate (audio)
Definition of proliferatenext
as in to increase
to become greater in extent, volume, amount, or number rumors about the incident proliferated on the Internet

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of proliferate As data centers proliferate across the country, amassing space in both acreage and America’s politics, no projects compare with the one planned for this corner of northwestern Utah. — Melanie Stetson Freeman, Christian Science Monitor, 1 Sep. 2026 Among ordinary Russians and civil servants alike, proliferating social controls and prosecutions for treason have created a pervasive climate of mistrust and fueled a sense of paralysis. — Andrei Soldatov, Foreign Affairs, 31 Aug. 2026 McDonald’s is one of many potent symbols of Americana that’s proliferating in China. — John Tamny, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026 As modern prisons proliferated across the nation, major cities exported prisoners to state prisons in less populated areas. — Ella Siegrist, The Conversation, 28 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for proliferate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for proliferate
  1. increase
  2. rise
  3. accelerate
  4. expand
  5. swell
  6. multiply
  7. accumulate
Verb
  • By increasing the carrier density in the neighbouring graphene bilayer, the team progressively weakened the Coulomb interactions between electrons in the magic-angle graphene.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 5 Sep. 2026
  • The cores or plugs removed from the lawn during aeration actually increase the success of overseeding by providing more direct contact between the seeds and the soil.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of increase
Verb
  • But rising bond yields make safer government debt more attractive relative to stocks, while also reducing the present value investors assign to companies’ future earnings.
    — Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 3 Sep. 2026
  • At the same time, waste is still piling up and resale’s environmental footprint is rising.
    — Bella Webb, Vogue, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of rise
Verb
  • Liu pointed to China’s 2025 Global AI Governance Action Plan, which calls for accelerating construction of clean power, next-generation networks, computing capacity and data centers.
    — Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 4 Sep. 2026
  • As a result, fewer researchers seek material that could accelerate innovation, and fewer countries are willing to share it.
    — Anna Nelson, Foreign Affairs, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of accelerate
Verb
  • The View From Beijing In a departure from business strategies of the past, this current cohort of Chinese companies has a mandate to expand internationally, according to academic Karim Alwadi, based in Beijing.
    — Kelsey Warner, semafor.com, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Opened on New Year’s Day in 1926, the hotel was expanded by famed society architect Maurice Fatio, who managed to maintain intimacy despite imposing a larger footprint.
    — Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of expand
Verb
  • Each morning at the crack of dawn, in one of the great Instagram moments of our time, 165 enormous balloons begin to swell in Cappadocia's half-light, their burners briefly illuminating the valley floor.
    — Scott Campbell, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Sep. 2026
  • But the administration, led by Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg, has pushed ahead, recruiting bankers to help wield a loan authority that has swelled from $1 billion to $200 billion thanks to the recent Republican party-line tax bill.
    — Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of swell
Verb
  • Every leadership promotion effectively multiplies that person’s behavior across the organization.
    — Forbes Business Council, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The mirrors multiplied the objects—and the viewer—seemingly without end.
    — Tessa Solomon for ARTnews, Robb Report, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of multiply
Verb
  • But at some point, continually accumulating more can become an incomplete vision of success.
    — True Tamplin, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
  • In Cam Miller’s first start at quarterback against the Giants, the Dolphins’ offense had accumulated 102 yards by game’s end.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of accumulate

Browse Nearby Words

proletariat
proliferate
proliferated
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Cite this Entry

“Proliferate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/proliferate. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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