as in increases
to become greater in extent, volume, amount, or number
rumors about the incident proliferated on the Internet
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Recent Examples of proliferates
North Korea proliferates weapons systems, technology, parts and components, technicians, engineers and specialists and military capabilities (such as the building of underground facilities) to Iran.
—
Benjamin Weinthal, FOXNews.com, 30 Mar. 2026
The partnership between the HR leaders and top technologists like the CTO and chief information officer has become much more critical as AI usage proliferates across the workplace.
—John Kell, Fortune, 28 Jan. 2026
This type of scam proliferates around the holidays, when consumers make more online purchases and shippers deal with higher-than-normal volumes of packages, Visa notes.
—Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 20 Nov. 2025
Backed by Celebrands — the firm also behind Halsey’s About-face color line — ‘Ôrebella has quickly established itself among the standout celebrity beauty brands of its time as the category proliferates.
—Noor Lobad, Footwear News, 7 Nov. 2025
As violence in schools proliferates in the United States, so too has the marketplace for products designed to protect students.
—Tonya Simpson, ABC News, 24 Sep. 2025
Misinformation proliferates both online and off.
—Stacie Kershner, The Conversation, 22 Sep. 2025
Vibrio proliferates during heavy rains and floods.
—Andrea Tamayo, Scientific American, 15 Aug. 2025
Benjamin Weinthal, FOXNews.com, 30 Mar. 2026
The partnership between the HR leaders and top technologists like the CTO and chief information officer has become much more critical as AI usage proliferates across the workplace.
—John Kell, Fortune, 28 Jan. 2026
This type of scam proliferates around the holidays, when consumers make more online purchases and shippers deal with higher-than-normal volumes of packages, Visa notes.
—Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 20 Nov. 2025
Backed by Celebrands — the firm also behind Halsey’s About-face color line — ‘Ôrebella has quickly established itself among the standout celebrity beauty brands of its time as the category proliferates.
—Noor Lobad, Footwear News, 7 Nov. 2025
As violence in schools proliferates in the United States, so too has the marketplace for products designed to protect students.
—Tonya Simpson, ABC News, 24 Sep. 2025
Misinformation proliferates both online and off.
—Stacie Kershner, The Conversation, 22 Sep. 2025
Vibrio proliferates during heavy rains and floods.
—Andrea Tamayo, Scientific American, 15 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for proliferates
Verb
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This greatly increases the surface area available for electrochemical reactions and enables faster charging and discharging while maintaining high power density in an extremely small footprint.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Apr. 2026
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Across the spectrum, increases to bonus payouts ranged from 6% to 43%, with a median of 13%, and an average increase of 12%.—
Amanda Gerut,
Fortune,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Rare earth demand rises The ubiquity of rare earth elements means demand keeps rising.—
Anton L. Delgado,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Apr. 2026
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From the fiery lake of damnation, Lucifer rises as Satan to seduce humanity’s first parents, Adam and Eve, in the flawless Garden of Eden, triggering the Fall of Man and the loss of Paradise itself.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Indeed, emerging evidence suggests that early detection and aggressive treatment of psychiatric symptoms may improve long-term outcomes by delaying the onset of clinical neurodegeneration and mitigating the cumulative biological stress that accelerates brain aging.—
Eric J. Nestler,
STAT,
28 Apr. 2026
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Collagen loss accelerates, cell turnover slows, and deep wrinkles become more prominent.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Kansas City Star,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Here, the traditional expectations of a five-star stay are softened into something more personal—where time expands, space breathes, and every detail is designed to feel intuitive rather than imposed.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
1 May 2026
-
On top of bringing hundreds of new jobs to the Marion County community, Equestrian Manor expands the options for events — with spaces available for weddings, meetings and other gatherings.—
Amy Drew Thompson,
The Orlando Sentinel,
1 May 2026
Verb
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And as the brightening world starts to resume familiar form, the glorious chorus swells with the songs of blue tits, goldfinches, chaffinches.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Apr. 2026
-
What really surprised the rather unflappable ISS and Glass Lewis was a tax reimbursement of $334 million that swells the total payout to $886 million.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Trapped by a quarantine with no way out, residents are forced into a desperate fight for survival as the threat multiplies by the second.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
30 Apr. 2026
-
The vast majority of fatal crashes are preventable with changes to infrastructure that forces drivers to slow down — a crash at 20 mph, for example, is extremely unlikely to kill anyone involved, but the risk multiplies very quickly at all speeds over 20 mph.—
Ariane Lange,
Sacbee.com,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Proliferates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/proliferates. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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