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Recent Examples of defoliate
In addition to being unsightly, the caterpillars can partially defoliate and weaken the plants.
—
Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 12 June 2025
Plants can defoliate all their leaves before any sign of the disease is obvious.
—Rita Perwich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 June 2025
Thielen noted that the three St. Louis County wildfires were zero percent contained as of early Tuesday afternoon, and that the dry and windy conditions Tuesday and Wednesday are conducive to wildfire spread in an area heavily defoliated by the spruce budworm.
—Katie Rohman, Twin Cities, 13 May 2025
This bright red insect can severely defoliate these lilies.
—Pamm Cooper, Hartford Courant, 10 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for defoliate
Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 12 June 2025
Plants can defoliate all their leaves before any sign of the disease is obvious.
—Rita Perwich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 June 2025
Thielen noted that the three St. Louis County wildfires were zero percent contained as of early Tuesday afternoon, and that the dry and windy conditions Tuesday and Wednesday are conducive to wildfire spread in an area heavily defoliated by the spruce budworm.
—Katie Rohman, Twin Cities, 13 May 2025
This bright red insect can severely defoliate these lilies.
—Pamm Cooper, Hartford Courant, 10 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for defoliate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for defoliate
Verb
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Showed me more than one way to skin a cat.—
Cam Inman,
Mercury News,
10 Feb. 2026
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The animals were valued for their fur and often trapped and skinned, while logging destroyed much of their habitat.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Not only is the white barked tree beautiful, but the sound of the wind rushing through the leaves embodies peace.—
Becky Bartkowski,
AZCentral.com,
14 Feb. 2026
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Punches were thrown from both teams after the goal, and the coaches from both benches barked at each other.—
Ryan Canfield,
FOXNews.com,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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This clever stem remover gadget makes hulling strawberries quick and clean.—
Nora Colomer
may earn a commission if you buy through our referral links. This content was created by a team that works independently from the Fox newsroom.,
FOXNews.com,
24 Oct. 2025
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Both hulled and unhulled pumpkin seeds provide more magnesium than sunflower seeds.—
Brittany Lubeck,
Verywell Health,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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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
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Examples include chopping bee, husking bee, logging bee, quilting bee, house- or barn-raising bee, sewing bee, spinning be, and, ultimately, spelling bee.—
Richard Lederer,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 June 2025
Verb
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Most repellent of all is a slow-burn sequence in which the Jimmys, having stumbled on a small community of survivors, proceed to string them up in a barn and gradually, meticulously flay them alive.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
16 Jan. 2026
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Koch was a real-life Nazi war criminal, played here by Krieps, whose sick specialties include flaying the skin off of Jewish people and making objects out of it like lampshades.—
William Earl,
Variety,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Although gulf fritillaries can denude passion vines of all foliage, the leaves quickly grow back, and fruit development is not affected.—
Joshua Siskin,
Oc Register,
6 Feb. 2026
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ProPublica and High Country News observed overgrazing in multiple states, including streambeds trampled by cattle, grasslands denuded by grazing and creeks fouled by cow corpses.—
Mark Olalde,
ProPublica,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Feast options include a 4-pound Lazy Man’s Maine Lobster, featuring fresh Maine lobster that is cooked, cracked, shelled and tossed in warm butter and white wine, then stuffed with sautéed shrimp and scallops and finished with Hollandaise.—
Amy Drew Thompson,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 Feb. 2026
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Tank shelling in Gaza City's eastern neighborhood of Zaytoun killed another three Palestinians, according to Shifa Hospital, including a husband and his wife.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his royal title in October 2025 and pushed out of his vast home at Royal Lodge after reports of his association with Epstein hit a fever pitch.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
11 Feb. 2026
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This energy often comes from the ionizing continuum, a powerful, high-energy flashlight from the black hole that strips electrons from atoms.—
Paul Sutter,
Space.com,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Defoliate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defoliate. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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