PROLIFERATED Synonyms: 45 Similar and Opposite Words

proliferated

verb

past tense of proliferate

as in increased

to become greater in extent, volume, amount, or number rumors about the incident proliferated on the Internet

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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 proliferated The term Pretendian hunter has proliferated online in reference to groups like TAAF. — Tommy Orange, Vulture, 26 Aug. 2026 Italian scientists have released 130,000 common octopuses (and counting) to fight blue crabs that have proliferated in parts of the Mediterranean, to the detriment of local species. — Gennaro Tomma, Scientific American, 25 Aug. 2026 The legal tussle comes as prediction markets have proliferated in the United States over the past two years. — Camila Grigera Naón, Fortune, 21 Aug. 2026 The tech company operates 120,000 cameras in every state but Alaska and has been the subject of heightened controversy as stories of inaccuracy and misuse proliferated in recent months. — Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 16 Aug. 2026 Swashbuckling adventures and war epics proliferated in the ’30s and ’40s, while things took a turn toward spies, cops, assassins, and sci-fi in later generations. — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 14 Aug. 2026 Bans on the power-hungry facilities have proliferated over the past year at the county and municipal levels, but this marked the first statewide prohibition. — Alex Music, IEEE Spectrum, 6 Aug. 2026 Telehealth platforms aimed at elder care and chronic-disease management have proliferated, wagering that virtual visits and remote monitoring can partly substitute for a geriatrician or sleep specialist who doesn't exist within driving distance. — John Samuels, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026 As election laws have proliferated and become more complicated, with early voting, for example, registrars have relied more on Thomas, a Norwalk Democrat in her first term, for direction. — Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 1 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for proliferated

Verb

Additionally, writing longer, more detailed descriptions of concerns (over 100 words) significantly increased response rates.

— Paul Hsieh, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2026
Overall, the budget increased by $720,000 since September 2025, Korfanta said.

— Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of increased

Verb

In 1950, only about 11% of Mission residents would have been considered Latino, according to the California Migration Museum, but by the 1970s, that number had swelled to nearly half.

— Marissa J. Lang, NPR, 28 Aug. 2026
The rocks and melted water suddenly swelled the rivers in the valleys below, causing torrents of water that swept buildings, bridges and earth downstream in Tibet and Nepal.

— CBS News, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of swelled

Verb

China accelerated its domestic chipmaking efforts after Washington tightened restrictions on Huawei Technologies in 2020, cutting the company off from TSMC.

— Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 30 Aug. 2026
Prince was able to free the ATV and accelerated toward the deputy, striking him and knocking him to the ground.

— Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of accelerated

Verb

Chinese manufacturers have expanded from areas including etching and deposition into ion implantation, inspection and metrology, according to Goldman.

— Maria Mocerino, Interesting Engineering, 30 Aug. 2026
His father, Charles, had expanded the New Jersey real estate development business his grandfather, a Polish Holocaust survivor, had begun after starting out as a construction laborer.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of expanded

Verb

Those amounts look modest until multiplied across the thousands of similar individual claims now pending.

— Carolina Rossini, The Conversation, 27 Aug. 2026
That single decision, multiplied across a school district, then a state, then dozens of states, is how the United States found itself, over the summer, with the worst measles year in 35 years.

— A.J. Russo, Baltimore Sun, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of multiplied

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“Proliferated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/proliferated. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of proliferated

verb

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