defoliate

verb

Definition of defoliatenext
as in to skin

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of defoliate At the opposite end of the spectrum are roses that are highly susceptible — losing vigor, producing fewer blooms, developing buds that ball up, and in some cases defoliating entirely. — Rita Perwich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 May 2026 While a small population of potato beetles won’t do much damage, large infestations can defoliate potato stems, weaken plants, and make potatoes produce fewer spuds. — Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 Dec. 2025 The caterpillars feed and defoliate boxwood plants. — Chris McKeown, The Enquirer, 30 Aug. 2025 In 2021, the moths defoliated over nine million acres of forest across the country according to Purdue University. — Sophie Hartley, IndyStar, 16 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for defoliate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defoliate
  1. skin
  2. bark
  3. hull
  4. husk
  5. flay
  6. denude
  7. shell
  8. strip
Verb
  • Every last one of my colleagues would happily skin me alive and wear my hide for warmth.
    — Danielle Parker, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Yamaguchi prepared each course live, skinning a pike conger or breaking down live lobsters from his perch behind the grill.
    — Noah Kaufman, Bon Appetit Magazine, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of skin
Verb
  • Both adult residents of the home were alerted to the fire when their dog began barking, helping wake them up, the fire department said.
    — Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026
  • When the group arrived, Jason couldn’t enter the residence because of the barking dogs.
    — Sam Gillette, PEOPLE, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of bark
Verb
  • Under a new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services program, participating healthcare organizations can offer eligible beneficiaries certain federally legal hemp products, such as hemp seed oil, hemp protein powder and hulled hemp seeds.
    — Karon Warren, AJC.com, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Pumpkin seeds can be consumed hulled or unhulled, but sunflower seeds should only be consumed when hulled.
    — Brittany Lubeck, Verywell Health, 10 July 2026
Definition of hull
Verb
  • Meanwhile, working one at a time, cut kernels off 4 large ears of corn, husked, and transfer to a large bowl.
    — Jesse Szewczyk, Bon Appetit Magazine, 5 June 2026
  • Just husk the corn, remove the silk and grill those cobs naked so they’re lightly charred, sweet, slightly crisp with a roasty popcorn taste.
    — Beth Dooley, Boston Herald, 20 Aug. 2025
Definition of husk
Verb
  • The Saints also appeared to have scored a defensive touchdown when edge rusher Chase Young hit Lions QB Jared Goff hard from behind, sending the ball flaying backward toward the Detroit goal line.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 Sep. 2026
  • The children are dismembered and penetrated, flayed alive, disemboweled, and their intestines set alight.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of flay
Verb
  • This year's phenomenon coincided with a string of hurricanes in the eastern Pacific, fueling sea level rise and large waves that have destroyed homes and denuded some Southern California beaches of sand.
    — Daniel Trotta, Arkansas Online, 9 Oct. 2026
  • The tribe led efforts to restore Prairie Creek, which had been largely denuded and buried by the timber operation.
    — Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 28 July 2026
Definition of denude
Verb
  • Its buildings were shelled and burned, and its infrastructure damaged.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Shaktar was forced to move their games to Lviv prior to their stadium being shelled.
    — Simon Johnson, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of shell
Verb
  • Airbnb guests can say goodbye to checkout chores like washing dishes, stripping beds and taking out the trash under a new policy announced this week.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The deception ultimately became the basis for a federal civil lawsuit seeking to strip her of citizenship.
    — Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of strip

Browse Nearby Words

deflects
defoliate
defoliated
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Cite this Entry

“Defoliate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defoliate. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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