Skip to content

proliferar

to proliferate

verb proh-lee-feh-RAHR Rare

Origin: from Latin proliferare, 'to bear offspring'

Also means

to multiply rapidly

Usage Note

Proliferar is used in formal and journalistic contexts to describe a rapid, uncontrolled spread — of ideas, businesses, organisms, or weapons: proliferan las tiendas online ('online shops are proliferating'). It is intransitive and does not take a direct object. The related noun is proliferación, commonly heard in the phrase proliferación nuclear.

Examples

"Las redes sociales proliferaron en pocos años."

Natural Translation

Social networks proliferated in just a few years.

Explore Spanish by topic