prolific

adjective

pro·​lif·​ic prə-ˈli-fik 

1

: producing young or fruit especially freely : fruitful

2

archaic : causing abundant growth, generation, or reproduction

3

: marked by abundant inventiveness or productivity

a prolific composer

prolificacy

prə-ˈli-fi-kə-sē 

noun

prolifically

prə-ˈli-fi-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

prolificness

prə-ˈli-fik-nəs 

noun

Synonyms

• cornucopian
• fat
• fecund
• fertile
• fructuous
• fruitful
• lush
• luxuriant
• productive
• rich

Choose the Right Synonym for prolific

fertile, fecund, fruitful, prolific mean producing or capable of producing offspring or fruit.

fertile implies the power to reproduce in kind or to assist in reproduction and growth

fertile soil

; applied figuratively, it suggests readiness of invention and development.

a fertile imagination

fecund emphasizes abundance or rapidity in bearing fruit or offspring.

a fecund herd

fruitful adds to fertile and fecund the implication of desirable or useful results.

fruitful research

prolific stresses rapidity of spreading or multiplying by or as if by natural reproduction.

a prolific writer

Examples of prolific in a Sentence

Since [David] Mamet is a prolific writer of Hollywood screenplays, there are today more people who know his work than know that they know it. —Juliet Fleming, Times Literary Supplement, 18 Feb. 2000

The main rival to his pneumonia was the prolific thrush which went into his throat and stomach. —Irvine Welsh, Trainspotting, 1993

A writer as established and prolific as Joyce Carol Oates can approach her material in a wealth of ways unavailable to the more plodding. —Jane Smiley, New York Times Book Review, 5 May 1991

Here there are La restaurants, wine bars, bookshops, estate agents more prolific than doctors, and attractive people in black, few of them aging. —Hanif Kureishi, Granta 22, Autumn 1987

a famously prolific author who could produce several works of fiction and nonfiction a year

Recent Examples on the Web

His brother, Richard A. Jones is a U.S. District Court judge who has presided over a number of high profile cases in his long career, including that of the state's most prolific serial killer, Gary Ridgway. —Christine Clarridge, Axios, 5 Nov. 2024

Spain had won both of the last two editions of the tournament and are the world champions at the senior level, while North Korea have a prolific record across the youth levels and very recently lifted the U-20 Women’s World Cup. —Neel Shelat, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024

In a prolific career that spanned more than 70 years, Jones established himself as a behind-the-scenes force and a gifted artist in his own right, working as an arranger, composer, songwriter and performer. —Daniel Arkin, NBC News, 4 Nov. 2024

While Georgia has reliably chosen Republican presidential candidates since 1996, Georgia voters elected President Joe Biden in 2020 as well as two Democratic senators, largely due to Stacey Abrams’s prolific fundraising and registration efforts. —Kizzy Cox, Essence, 4 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

French prolifique, from Middle French, from Latin proles + Middle French -figue -fic

First Known Use

1650, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

prolific

adjective

pro·​lif·​ic prə-ˈlif-ik 

1

: producing young or fruit in large numbers

a prolific orchard

2

: highly inventive : productive

a prolific writer

prolifically

-ˈlif-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb