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Propagate vs Generate - What's the difference?

propagate | generate | Related terms |

In transitive terms the difference between propagate and generate

is that propagate is to generate; to produce while generate is to procreate, beget.

In intransitive terms the difference between propagate and generate

is that propagate is to have young or issue; to be produced or multiplied by generation, or by new shoots or plants; as, rabbits propagate rapidly while generate is to appear or occur; be generated.

propagate

English

Verb

  • To cause to continue or multiply by generation, or successive production; -- applied to animals and plants; as, to propagate a breed of horses or sheep; to propagate a species of fruit tree.
  • To cause to spread to extend; to impel or continue forward in space; as, to propagate sound or light.
  • To spread from person to person; to extend the knowledge of; to originate and spread; to carry from place to place; to disseminate
  • * Daniel Defoe
  • The infection was propagated insensibly.
  • * {{quote-news
  • , year=2011 , date=December 19 , author=Kerry Brown , title=Kim Jong-il obituary , work=The Guardian citation , page= , passage=The DPRK propagated an extraordinary tale of his birth occurring on Mount Baekdu, one of Korea's most revered sites, being accompanied by shooting stars in the sky. It is more likely that he was born in a small village in the USSR, while his father was serving as a Soviet-backed general during the second world war.}}
  • (obsolete) To multiply; to increase.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Griefs of mine own lie heavy in my breast, / Which thou wilt propagate .
  • To generate; to produce.
  • * De Quincey
  • Motion propagated motion, and life threw off life.
  • To have young or issue; to be produced or multiplied by generation, or by new shoots or plants; as, rabbits propagate rapidly.
  • (computing) To take effect on all relevant devices in a network.
  • It takes 24 hours for password changes to propagate throughout the system.
  • (computing) To cause to take effect on all relevant devices in a network.
  • The server propagates the password file at midnight each day.

    Derived terms

    * propagation * propagator

    References

    * ----

    generate

    English

    Verb

    (generat)
  • To bring into being; give rise to.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2012, date=May 9, author=Jonathan Wilson, work=the Guardian
  • , title= Europa League: Radamel Falcao's Atlético Madrid rout Athletic Bilbao , passage=In the last 20 minutes Athletic began to generate the sort of pressure of which they are capable, but by then it was far too late: the game had begun to slip away from them as early as the seventh minute.}}
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-22, volume=407, issue=8841, page=68, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= T time , passage=The ability to shift profits to low-tax countries by locating intellectual property in them
  • To produce as a result of a chemical or physical process.
  • To procreate, beget.
  • (mathematics) To form a figure from a curve or solid.
  • To appear or occur; be generated.
  • * 1883 , (Thomas Hardy), (The Three Strangers)
  • Mrs. Fennel, seeing the steam begin to generate on the countenances of her guests, crossed over and touched the fiddler's elbow and put her hand on the serpent's mouth.

    Synonyms

    * (to bring into being) create

    Antonyms

    * (to bring into being) annihilate, extinguish * (to produce as a result of a chemical or physical process) erase

    Anagrams

    * ----