proliferation

Use in a sentence

noun

the growth or production of cells by multiplication of parts.

a rapid and often excessive spread or increase: nuclear proliferation.

Origin:
1855–60; proliferate + -ion

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins

World English Dictionary

proliferation (prəˌlɪfəˈreɪʃən)

—n
1.	rapid growth or reproduction of new parts, cells, etc
2.	rapid growth or increase in numbers
3.	a great number: done up in a proliferation of fancy frills

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

proliferation

1867, "formation or development of cells," from Fr. proliferation, from prolifere "producing offspring," from L. proles "offspring" (see prolific) + ferre "to bear" (see infer). Meaning "enlargement, extension, increase" is from 1920; especially of nuclear weapons (1966).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

proliferation pro·lif·er·a·tion (prə-lĭf'ə-rā'shən)
n.
The growth and reproduction of similar cells.

Example sentences

In reality, though, the proliferation of diverse voices may actually improve

our overall ability to think.

Particularly confusing has been the proliferation of health icons that adorn

food packaging.

The proliferation of cross-purposes and strange bedfellows makes for pernicious

and complicated arbitrating.

Now it's a different story with the proliferation of smartphones.

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Matching Quote

"The proliferation of support groups suggests to me that too many Americans are growing up in homes that do not contain a grandmother. A home without a grandmother is like an egg without salt.... The emotionally satisfying discussions that take place in Chronic Pain Outreach and Depression Resources are simply updated versions of the grandmotherly practice of hanging crepe. We could eliminate much of the isolation that support groups exist to fill and save the "traditional family" that everybody is so worried about if more couples took their aging parents to live with them."

-Florence King