What does "propagate" mean?
To cause to continue or multiply by generation, or successive production.
Propagate
/ˈpɹɒpəˌɡeɪt/ adj, verb
adj, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: To cause to continue or multiply by generation, or successive production.
- Grammar: propagate is listed as adj, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: broadcast, circulate, disseminate, spread.
- Useful contrasts: silence a rumor, staunching, absorb.
- Usage evidence: Humans are the vehicles that genes use to propagate themselves.
How to use "propagate"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "propagate" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "propagate" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "propagate" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "propagate" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "propagate" is acting as adj, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "broadcast" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "propagate", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To cause to continue or multiply by generation, or successive production. transitive
"June 1879, William Keith Brooks, Popular Science Monthly Volume 15 - The Condition of Women from a Zoological Point of View I A marked bud-variation is of very rare occurrence, but in many cases the tendency of plants raised from seeds to differ from the parents is so great that choice varieties are propagated entirely by buds. It is almost hopeless to attempt to propagate a choice variety of grape or strawberry by seeds, as the individuals raised in this way seldom have the valuable qualities of their parents, and, although they may have new qualities of equal or greater value, the chances are of course greatly against this, since the possibility of undesirable variation is much greater than the chance of a desirable sport."
- 2 multiply sexually or asexually wordnet
- 3 To cause to spread to extend; to impel or continue forward in space. transitive
"to propagate sound or light"
- 4 cause to propagate, as by grafting or layering wordnet
- 5 To spread from person to person; to extend the knowledge of; to originate and spread; to carry from place to place; to disseminate. transitive
"There began to appear from the East, cropping up now here, now there, but in general along lines of advance towards the West, individuals or small communities who proposed and propagated a new and, as they called it, a purified form of religion."
Show 12 more definitions
- 6 cause to become widely known wordnet
- 7 To multiply; to increase. obsolete, transitive
"Griefs of mine own lie heavy in my breast, / Which thou wilt propagate."
- 8 transmit or cause to broaden or spread wordnet
- 9 To generate; to produce. transitive
"But to [Edmund] Burke, […] the mere act of movement became the principle or cause of movement. Motion propagated motion, and life threw off life."
- 10 become distributed or widespread wordnet
- 11 To be propagated; to travel. intransitive
- 12 transmit wordnet
- 13 To produce young; to be produced or multiplied by generation, or by new shoots or plants. intransitive
"As pigeons propagate so rapidly, I suppose that a thousand or fifteen hundred birds would have to be annually killed by mere chance."
- 14 travel through the air wordnet
- 15 To take effect on all relevant devices in a network. intransitive
"It takes 24 hours for password changes to propagate throughout the system."
- 16 transmit from one generation to the next wordnet
- 17 To cause to take effect on all relevant devices in a network. transitive
"The server propagates the password file at midnight each day."
Adjective
- 1 propagated obsolete
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Humans are the vehicles that genes use to propagate themselves."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "propagate"?
Common synonyms include: broadcast, circulate, disseminate, spread, advertising drive, bandied.
How do you use "propagate" in a sentence?
Humans are the vehicles that genes use to propagate themselves.
How do you pronounce "propagate"?
Pronounced /ˈpɹɒpəˌɡeɪt/.
Etymology
First attested in 1535; from Latin prōpāgātus, perfect passive participle of prōpāgō, see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix). Participial usage up until Early Modern English.