proliferate
/pɹəˈlɪf.əɹ.eɪt/verb
proliferate is spelled P-R-O-L-I-F-E-R-A-T-E: 11 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 42,145th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, proliferate means “To increase in number or spread rapidly; to multiply” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in proliferate?
| Letters | 11: P-R-O-L-I-F-E-R-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 42,145th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is proliferate?
Proliferate appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 42,145th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce proliferate?
- /pɹəˈlɪf.əɹ.eɪt/
Proliferate has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-proliferate.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of proliferate
- proliferates present, singular, he/she/it
- proliferating participle, present
- proliferated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does proliferate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To increase in number or spread rapidly; to multiply.
The flowers proliferated rapidly all spring.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Proliferate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to increase in number or spread:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | sich ausbreiten, sich vermehren |
| Portuguese | proliferar |
| Spanish | proliferar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does proliferate come from?
Back-formation from proliferation.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).