All words

pullulate

Meaning

To increase in number or quantity very rapidly, often in a way that is difficult to control or manage.

Examples by difficulty

Basic: Simple, everyday vocabulary — the easiest to read.

The mosquitoes began to pullulate after the rain. Soon, every surface was covered. We swatted and sprayed, but they just kept coming, an endless, buzzing swarm we couldn't get under control.

The new algae blooms in the farm tanks began to pullulate. What started as a few spots quickly became a thick green carpet, choking out the fish food. We couldn't keep up with the filtering, the water turning foul as more and more of the stuff appeared.

The algae bloom was a disaster. Once a small patch, it began to pullulate, choking the tiny fish and turning the water a thick, oily green. We couldn't get ahead of it; the slime kept growing, a suffocating blanket spreading across the pond.

The tiny ants, a mere sprinkle at breakfast, began to pullulate faster than a toddler spotting a cookie. Soon, the kitchen counter looked like a tiny black highway, an unstoppable, crumb-seeking invasion we definitely couldn't manage.

The tiny, fluffy dust bunnies under Grandpa's armchair seemed to pullulate overnight. Suddenly, they were everywhere, a gray tide threatening to consume his slippers and a rogue sock. He swore they were breeding faster than he could flick them away with his cane.

Normal: Standard, everyday language.

The city's homeless population seemed to pullulate overnight. Tents sprung up like weeds, a desperate tide of humanity the authorities couldn't get a handle on. Soon, the streets were overflowing, and panic began to set in.

The tiny nanobots, originally a handful, began to pullulate within the reactor core. Engineers watched in horror as their numbers spiked exponentially, alarms blaring about an uncontrolled chain reaction they couldn't possibly contain. The hum of their rapid proliferation filled the control room with dread.

The ancient recipe called for a single, dormant spore. Days later, the petri dish was a swirling, iridescent chaos. We watched in horror as the unseen life began to pullulate, a neon tide consuming the sterile agar, far beyond anything we'd prepared for.

The tiny, fuzzy creatures, affectionately named "dust bunnies," began to pullulate under the sofa. What started as a few wisps of forgotten fluff quickly became an unmanageable furry tide, threatening to engulf the entire living room in a silent, linty invasion.

The mutant dust bunnies in Mrs. Higgins' attic began to pullulate with alarming speed. First, there were just a few, then a swarm, then a fluffy, grey avalanche threatening to swallow her collection of antique doorknobs. Soon, they were practically *pulllulating* out from under the eaves, a silent, lint-based uprising.

Advanced: Richer vocabulary that stretches an upper-level reader.

The digital billboards began to pullulate across the skyline, an overwhelming cascade of advertisements replacing familiar landmarks. Each flashing image seemed to sprout instantly, a frantic, unstoppable growth that left us feeling lost and bombarded, unable to find a single quiet spot in the urban sprawl.

The ancient bioluminescent fungi, dormant for centuries, began to pullulate across the cavern walls. At first, it was a faint glow, then an unsettling, creeping spread. Soon, the entire underground system was alight, the vibrant pulsing consuming every surface, a silent, overwhelming tide that defied any attempt to contain it.

The minuscule fungal spores began to pullulate across the damp canvas of the forgotten mural. Within hours, a fuzzy, iridescent bloom consumed the artist's meticulous work, a riot of uncontrolled growth swallowing the delicate hues, a silent, creeping tide of microscopic life.

The invasive yeast culture began to pullulate in the petri dish with alarming speed, turning the agar into a fuzzy, overpopulated metropolis. Soon, microscopic inhabitants were clamoring for real estate, staging tiny, bubbly protests against the sheer density. It was a veritable sourdough stampede, threatening to spill over the edges in a frothy, fermented deluge.

The garden gnomes, previously a quaint ceramic collection, began to pullulate with alarming speed. One moment, there were a dozen; the next, hundreds of tiny, pointed hats materialized, their painted grins unnervingly cheerful as they marched in legions across the petunias, commandeering trowels and threatening the prize-winning pumpkins.

Challenging: Rare, high-register vocabulary for serious word lovers.

The invasive aphids began to pullulate on the rose bushes, their sheer numbers a horrifying spectacle. Within days, the once vibrant blooms were choked, a testament to the rapid, unmanageable proliferation of the minuscule pests. It felt like a losing battle.

The data streams began to pullulate, an incessant tide of alphanumeric characters overwhelming the network's capacity. Alarms shrieked as the digital infestation multiplied, an unmanageable surge of corrupted packets threatening to cripple the entire astrogation system. Efforts to contain the phenomenon proved utterly futile against its exponential growth.

The experimental nanobots, initially contained, began to pullulate within the sealed chamber, their metallic shimmer filling the viewport. Alarms blared as the infestation spread exponentially, a runaway cascade of self replication threatening containment protocols. Engineers watched, aghast, as the microscopic swarm overwhelmed every defense.

The garden gnomes, initially a quaint handful, began to pullulate with alarming alacrity after one particularly potent batch of elven fertilizer. Soon, their diminutive ceramic forms were inundating flowerbeds and commandeering the birdbath, their painted smiles now an unsettling testament to unchecked proliferation.

Underneath Bartholomew's prize-winning parsnips, an astonishing proliferation of sentient, polka-dotted fungi began to pullulate. They swiftly transmogrified the once-humble root vegetables into technicolor, jiggly orbs, their proliferation so prodigious that soon Bartholomew's entire garden risked becoming a gargantuan, giggling mushroom disco.

Difficulty

Advanced — Less frequent words that stretch an upper-level vocabulary.

Appears in

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