How to Use defoliate in a Sentence

defoliate

verb
  • Insects are defoliating the trees.
  • The snails can defoliate large trees, consume grain crops and infect grain with a fungal pathogen.
    — William Thornton | [email protected], al, 21 July 2022
  • The sucking causes stippling of the leaf and can defoliate the plant.
    — Rita Perwich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 May 2022
  • If a benjamina defoliates somewhat, you aren’t left with this big bald spot on your tree.
    — Los Angeles Times, 15 Aug. 2019
  • The leaves will be skeletonized or defoliated, or the needles of conifers will be chewed down to the branches.
    — Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 10 Sep. 2025
  • Mangrove trees were defoliated, the wind having stripped their leaves off.
    — Ari Natter, Bloomberg.com, 18 Sep. 2017
  • These pests can nearly defoliate a tree late in the summer, but the tree will recover fully next year.
    — oregonlive, 3 Sep. 2022
  • These beetles defoliate plants, reducing yields or killing young plants.
    — The Editors, Good Housekeeping, 10 July 2018
  • These beetles defoliate plants, reducing yields or killing young plants.
    — The Editors, Good Housekeeping, 10 July 2018
  • Adults eat flowers and skeletonize leaves of a broad range of plants; plants may be completely defoliated.
    — The Editors Of Organic Life, Good Housekeeping, 26 Jan. 2018
  • The stems of the plants will turn black, there will be black spots on the leaves, and the most distinctive symptom is the plant will defoliate in sections.
    — Chris McKeown, The Enquirer, 27 Aug. 2023
  • The limes with the mechanic’s light show very little damage, but the lemons are defoliating.
    — Calvin Finch, San Antonio Express-News, 19 Jan. 2018
  • These caterpillars will eat the foliage and defoliate a boxwood.
    — Chris McKeown, The Enquirer, 10 Aug. 2024
  • Adults skeletonize leaves, chew flowers, and may completely defoliate plants while larvae feed on lawn and garden plant roots.
    — The Editors, Good Housekeeping, 10 July 2018
  • Adults skeletonize leaves, chew flowers, and may completely defoliate plants while larvae feed on lawn and garden plant roots.
    — The Editors, Good Housekeeping, 10 July 2018
  • The primary aim in conflict zones was to destroy crops and to defoliate forests used by enemy fighters.
    — Washington Post, 10 May 2021
  • Fresh buds may also be consumed if trees are severely defoliated.
    — Pamm Cooper, Hartford Courant, 8 May 2024
  • The viburnum leaf beetle is a heavy feeder that can completely defoliate viburnums.
    — Tim Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 2 July 2022
  • Spongy moth caterpillars are notorious for defoliating, or eating all of the leaves off of, trees.
    — Claire Reid, Journal Sentinel, 2 Aug. 2023
  • The caterpillars feed and defoliate boxwood plants.
    — Chris McKeown, The Enquirer, 30 Aug. 2025
  • The feeding damage of the larvae is fast — a decent infestation can defoliate a mature plant in a day or so which doesn’t give you much time to react.
    — Paul Cappiello, The Courier-Journal, 19 June 2021
  • Only the Box Tree Moth caterpillars will defoliate the plants.
    — Chris McKeown, The Enquirer, 10 Aug. 2024
  • Research continued, however, and chemists sought rapid ways to defoliate dense jungle areas.
    — Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 25 May 2022
  • While urine has little direct impact on vegetation, some animals are attracted to the salts and may defoliate plants or dig up soil as a result.
    — Vicky Ho, Alaska Dispatch News, 20 July 2017
  • Their eggs hatched into spongy-moth caterpillars, which proceeded to defoliate much of New England.
    — Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2023
  • For example, spongy moths may be virtually absent for years on end before appearing en masse and defoliating forests.
    — Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 4 July 2024
  • Schirmer said the bacteria being sprayed targets the invasive gypsy moths that can defoliate trees and cause permanent damage.
    — Linda Girardi, Aurora Beacon-News, 10 May 2017
  • When infestation is light, larvae will eat leaves on only a few branches; however, a heavy infestation can defoliate an entire tree in a short period of time.
    — Debbie Arrington, sacbee, 27 Oct. 2017
  • In addition to being unsightly, the caterpillars can partially defoliate and weaken the plants.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 30 May 2026
  • Select disease-resistant varieties and examine plants carefully for insects, such as hornworms, that can defoliate a plant.
    — Pam Peirce, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 Sep. 2021

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'defoliate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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