C2verbformalmediasociety
US/prəˈlɪf.ə.reɪt/
UK/prəˈlɪf.ə.reɪt/
to increase quickly in number or amount
In context
Fake news websites proliferated in the weeks before the election.
Coffee shops have proliferated across Hanoi over the last ten years.
Conspiracy theories tend to proliferate when people stop trusting official sources.
Words that go with proliferate
adverb + verb
- rapidly proliferateDelivery apps have rapidly proliferated in Asian cities.
verb + preposition
- allowed to proliferateIf false stories are allowed to proliferate, trust in the media will fall.
- continue to proliferatePrivate schools continue to proliferate in the suburbs.
- begin to proliferateExperts warn that fake accounts will begin to proliferate before the vote.
- proliferate acrossSurveillance cameras have proliferated across the city.