prolific

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is derived from the Latin word proles meaning 'offspring', and is properly applied to someone or something that produces either offspring or something compared to offspring such as writings, works of art, etc. Like many adjectives in English (e.g. generous, thoughtful), it is often transferred from the producer to the thing produced (e.g. a prolific output as well as a prolific writer), and objections to this use that are sometimes made are hard to justify, although alternatives such as abundant and numerous are available to those who are inclined to be cautious in such matters:

McGonagall...had just had his prolific collection of bizarre poems translated into Russian, Chinese, Japanese and...Thai—Times, 1977.

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adjective

1. Capable of reproducing: fecund, fertile, fruitful, productive. Biology proliferous. See rich/poor.
2. Characterized by great productivity: fecund, fertile, fruitful, productive, rich. See rich/poor.

adj

Definition: fruitful, productive
Antonyms: barren, fruitless, impotent, unfruitful, unproductive

IN BRIEF: Done in a highly productive manner.

I was able to write very prolifically last night, so I finished my report early.

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For a list of words related to prolific, see:

• Active, Lively, Awake, or Limber

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See words rhyming with "prolificacy."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Prolific.

Common misspelling(s) of prolific

• profilic

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - frugtbar, frodig, produktiv

Nederlands (Dutch)
productief, vruchtbaar

Français (French)
adj. - prolifique, fécond, rapide

Deutsch (German)
adj. - produktiv, fruchtbar

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - γόνιμος, παραγωγικός, άφθονος, πολυγραφότατος

Italiano (Italian)
prolifico

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - prolífico

Русский (Russian)
плодородный, плодовитый

Español (Spanish)
adj. - prolífico, fecundo

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - fruktsam, produktiv, som förökar sig snabbt

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
生子的, 多产的, 结果实的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 生子的, 多產的, 結果實的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - (많은) 아이를 낳는, 열매를 맺는

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 子を産む, 実を結ぶ, 多産の, 多作の, 豊富な

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) مثمر, وافر الإثمار‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮פורה, שופע, מתרבה‬

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