deforestation
noun
de·for·es·ta·tion
(ˌ)dē-ˌfȯr-ə-ˈstā-shən 
-ˌfär-
: the action or process of clearing of forests
also
: the state of having been cleared of forests
Examples of deforestation in a Sentence
the deforestation of the island
Recent Examples on the Web
The full feature slate spans material on topics including the Southport riots, fracking in West Texas, the Rohingya refugee crisis, bride slavery in India, artificial intelligence and the deforestation of Canada’s Boreal Forest.
—
Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 18 May 2026
And because harpies rely on large emergent trees for nesting and an extensive, continuous canopy for hunting, even partial deforestation will severely disrupt their ability to breed and forage.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 17 May 2026
De la Sanch, an assistant professor of environmental science and studies at DePaul University, suggests the reemergence and spread of novel viruses like hantaviruses may be due to climate change, deforestation and urbanization.
—Allison Kiehl, Chicago Tribune, 9 May 2026
Hotez attributes this to humans increasingly interacting with wildlife and their habitats, including through urbanization and deforestation.
—Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 9 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for deforestation
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.
Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 18 May 2026
And because harpies rely on large emergent trees for nesting and an extensive, continuous canopy for hunting, even partial deforestation will severely disrupt their ability to breed and forage.
—Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 17 May 2026
De la Sanch, an assistant professor of environmental science and studies at DePaul University, suggests the reemergence and spread of novel viruses like hantaviruses may be due to climate change, deforestation and urbanization.
—Allison Kiehl, Chicago Tribune, 9 May 2026
Hotez attributes this to humans increasingly interacting with wildlife and their habitats, including through urbanization and deforestation.
—Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 9 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for deforestation
Cite this Entry
“Deforestation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deforestation. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
deforestation
noun
de·for·es·ta·tion
(ˌ)dē-ˌfȯr-ə-ˈstā-shən
-ˌfär-
: the action or process of clearing an area of forests
also
: the state of having been cleared of forests
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
