Viralize

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To spread content broadly through social media channels, leading to significant visibility and engagement from large audiences
2. To initiate the rapid dissemination of media or information online, achieving high levels of user interaction and sharing
3. To make digital content rapidly circulate across social media platforms, gaining extensive attention and engagement

Etymology: "Viralize" is a plain formation: it combines "viral," meaning spreading or transmitted like a contagion, with the verb-forming suffix "-ize," which turns an adjective into a verb meaning to make something into the thing described. Within the word, "viral" carries the older sense of a virus, so to viralize something is to make it spread the way an infection does, passing from one carrier to the next. The adjective "viral" was in use for infections well before the internet, and its extension to information came later as people began describing contagious spreading of rumours, jokes and images. The verb built from it follows that same path, so its meaning rests on a biological image rather than a technical coinage.

Synonyms: amplify, propagate