proliferate

Definition

To increase in number or spread rapidly; to multiply.

Etymology

Back-formation from proliferation.

Example Sentences

• "The flowers proliferated rapidly all spring."
• "When no certain cure exists, quack remedies tend to proliferate and the history of quackery and secret cures is full of extraordinary forms of treatment for the various arthritic disorders."
• "But through the oligopoly, charcoal fuel proliferated throughout London's trades and industries. By the 1200s, brewers and bakers, tilemakers, glassblowers, pottery producers, and a range of other craftsmen all became hour-to-hour consumers of charcoal."

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