Proliferate — Pro*lif er*ate, v. t. [L. proles offspring + ferre to bear.] [1913 Webster] 1. (Biol.) To produce or form cells; especially, to produce cells rapidly. [1913 Webster] 2. (Zo[ o]l.) To produce zooids by budding. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
proliferate — 1873, as a term in biology, from PROLIFERATION (Cf. proliferation). General sense from 1961. Related: Proliferated; proliferating … Etymology dictionary
proliferate — [v] increase quickly breed, burgeon, engender, escalate, expand, generate, grow rapidly, multiply, mushroom*, procreate, propagate, reproduce, run riot*, snowball*; concept 780 Ant. decline, decrease, fall off … New thesaurus
proliferate — ► VERB ▪ reproduce rapidly; increase rapidly in number. DERIVATIVES proliferation noun proliferative adjective. ORIGIN from Latin prolificus (see PROLIFIC(Cf. ↑prolifically)) … English terms dictionary
proliferate — [prō lif΄ə rāt΄, prəlif΄ər āt΄] vt. proliferated, proliferating [back form. < proliferation < Fr prolifération < prolifère, PROLIFEROUS + ATION] 1. to reproduce (new parts) in quick succession 2. to produce or create in profusion vi. 1 … English World dictionary
proliferate — UK [prəˈlɪfəreɪt] / US [prəˈlɪfəˌreɪt] verb [intransitive] Word forms proliferate : present tense I/you/we/they proliferate he/she/it proliferates present participle proliferating past tense proliferated past participle proliferated formal to… … English dictionary
proliferate — verb ( ated; ating) Etymology: back formation from proliferation, from French prolifération, from proliférer to proliferate, from prolifère reproducing freely, from Latin proles + fer ferous Date: 1873 intransitive verb 1. to grow by rapid… … New Collegiate Dictionary
proliferate — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) v. i. spread, multiply. See multitude, reproduction. II (Roget s IV) v. Syn. increase, engender, procreate, generate; see propagate 1 , reproduce 3 . III (Roget s 3 Superthesaurus) (VOCABULARY WORD) v.… … English dictionary for students
proliferate — pro|lif|e|rate [prəˈlıfəreıt] v [I] [Date: 1800 1900; Origin: proliferation] if something proliferates, it increases quickly and spreads to many different places ▪ Computer courses continue to proliferate … Dictionary of contemporary English
proliferate — [[t]prəlɪ̱fəreɪt[/t]] proliferates, proliferating, proliferated VERB If things proliferate, they increase in number very quickly. [FORMAL] Computerized data bases are proliferating fast... In recent years commercial, cultural, travel and other… … English dictionary
