Pullulate

//ˈpʌl.jʊ.leɪt// verb

verb ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To multiply rapidly.
  2. 2
    breed freely and abundantly wordnet
  3. 3
    To germinate.
  4. 4
    become abundant; increase rapidly wordnet
  5. 5
    To teem with; to be filled (with).

    "I must say the whole of Oxford has become most peculiar suddenly. Last night it was pullulating with women."

Show 3 more definitions
  1. 6
    produce buds, branches, or germinate wordnet
  2. 7
    move in large numbers wordnet
  3. 8
    be teeming, be abuzz wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
shootteemaboundabound withbe alive withbe fruitful

Example

More examples

"I must say the whole of Oxford has become most peculiar suddenly. Last night it was pullulating with women."

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin pullulātus, perfect passive participle of pullulō (“sprout forth”), from pullulus (“a young animal, a sprout”), diminutive of pullus.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.