as in occupying
to be in a place for a period of time
We need to protect the forests and also the wildlife that inhabits them. The people who inhabit the island take great pride in their art.
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Recent Examples of inhabiting
While the Oscars have been held downtown before, previously inhabiting the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and the Shrine Auditorium, the Dolby Theatre has been synonymous with the event for the past two decades.
—
Rebecca Ford, Vanity Fair, 26 Mar. 2026
Daisy Duck This eyelash curler truly leaves no crumbs, but is Daisy Duck inhabiting anyone else’s body?
—Fiona Landers, New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2026
In these stretches, Willow sounds less concerned with proving her musicianship than actually inhabiting it.
—Precious Fondren, Pitchfork, 24 Feb. 2026
Others are adopted into privileged spaces, only to remain marked as Other, inhabiting shared environments without ever receiving full acceptance.
—Literary Hub, 18 Feb. 2026
Kelly’s mid-30s John drifts through life, straining against his mother Jackie Onassis’s expectations while inhabiting a world that’s so clearly his own personal oyster farm.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 12 Feb. 2026
Sadly, the full ring of fire will only be witnessed by the few human beings inhabiting research stations in the path of annularity, along with the millions of penguins who call the frozen continent home.
—Anthony Wood, Space.com, 10 Feb. 2026
Featuring Tim McGraw, Eric Church, and Morgan Wallen, the song finds each artist inhabiting a specific member of the landowning (fictional) McArthur family.
—Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 30 Jan. 2026
Datebook Picks At ACT, those ghosts are upgrading their digs, and Bay Area audiences get to see a Blance DuBois-Stanley Kowalski faceoff between actors — Lucy Owen and Brad Koed — who’ve been inhabiting those roles for three years.
—Theater Critic, San Francisco Chronicle, 17 Jan. 2026
Rebecca Ford, Vanity Fair, 26 Mar. 2026
Daisy Duck This eyelash curler truly leaves no crumbs, but is Daisy Duck inhabiting anyone else’s body?
—Fiona Landers, New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2026
In these stretches, Willow sounds less concerned with proving her musicianship than actually inhabiting it.
—Precious Fondren, Pitchfork, 24 Feb. 2026
Others are adopted into privileged spaces, only to remain marked as Other, inhabiting shared environments without ever receiving full acceptance.
—Literary Hub, 18 Feb. 2026
Kelly’s mid-30s John drifts through life, straining against his mother Jackie Onassis’s expectations while inhabiting a world that’s so clearly his own personal oyster farm.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 12 Feb. 2026
Sadly, the full ring of fire will only be witnessed by the few human beings inhabiting research stations in the path of annularity, along with the millions of penguins who call the frozen continent home.
—Anthony Wood, Space.com, 10 Feb. 2026
Featuring Tim McGraw, Eric Church, and Morgan Wallen, the song finds each artist inhabiting a specific member of the landowning (fictional) McArthur family.
—Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 30 Jan. 2026
Datebook Picks At ACT, those ghosts are upgrading their digs, and Bay Area audiences get to see a Blance DuBois-Stanley Kowalski faceoff between actors — Lucy Owen and Brad Koed — who’ve been inhabiting those roles for three years.
—Theater Critic, San Francisco Chronicle, 17 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inhabiting
Verb
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But taking control of the strait militarily requires massive costs and risks, including a strategic invasion that comes short of occupying the country.—
Jordan Blum,
Fortune,
31 Mar. 2026
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If your fantasy roster is light on steals, David Hamilton has made a pair of early starts for the Brewers, occupying the strong side of a third base platoon.—
Andy Behrens,
New York Times,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Other rabbits end up in her shelter after living their lives in a laboratory.—
Sharon Chin,
CBS News,
2 Apr. 2026
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Elders living alone who can no longer cook or clean, who stopped paying their bills or answering the door, who aren’t taking their meds or bathing themselves, who are lost or don’t remember to turn off a stove might get a visit from an adult protective investigator.—
Carol Marbin Miller,
Miami Herald,
2 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Inhabiting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inhabiting. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
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