proliferation

[ pruh-lif-uh-rey-shuhn ]

noun

1. the growth or production of cells by multiplication of parts.
2. a rapid and often excessive spread or increase:

   nuclear proliferation.

Word History and Origins

Origin of proliferation¹

First recorded in 1855–60; proliferate + -ion

Example Sentences

A proliferation of new policy ideas often accompanies a changing of the guard in Washington.

From Axios

The element of combat was introduced with the proliferation of hedge funds that actively short stocks to hedge their positions.

From Quartz

That’s one thing for coal, which is already on its way out, but Langer points out that the proliferation of new natural gas since 2005 is going to be a challenge for those big climate goals.

From Popular-Science

The proliferation of such events raises questions about the lines between misinformation and real-world action.

From Washington Post

As even more data becomes ever more easily available online, and with the proliferation of artificial intelligence, I am convinced that the real world will become even more like the Internet if we don’t make changes.

From Fortune

“SA-6s are the least of our concerns for CAS in the modern age of surface-to-air missile system proliferation,” the official said.

From The Daily Beast

Concerns about the proliferation of these labs date back to shortly after the expansion began in the early 2000s.

From The Daily Beast

The proliferation of zany burger toppings came next as an inevitable by-product of the high-end burger fad.

From The Daily Beast

The proliferation of Muslim-majority states continued with decolonization in the 1950s and 1960s.

From The Daily Beast

But Cole also points to the proliferation of phones with video capabilities as a turning point.

From The Daily Beast

It is just the disorderly proliferation of Bromstead over again, in lives instead of in houses.

From Project Gutenberg

A now terminates just below the point where the proliferation of cells is taking place.

From Project Gutenberg

This is due to the proliferation of the cells in the anterior capsule of the lens while attempting to lay down new lens fibres.

From Project Gutenberg

But where did that place his theory on darkness and a correlation with the heightened noise's proliferation?

From Project Gutenberg

In "Jennie Gerhardt" there is no such flaccidity of structure, no such vacillation in aim, no such proliferation of episode.

From Project Gutenberg