as in to inhabit
to supply with inhabitants
a small island populated only by woodland creatures
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Recent Examples of populate
Early on in the site-creation process, many website builders ask you to fill out a form that contains your basic business and contact information, which populates your site design.
—
PC Magazine, 29 May 2025
There are dozens upon dozens of memorable eccentrics, delusional antiheroes, blustery authority figures, sad sacks, screw-ups and all-too-lovable schmucks that populate the 12 feature films and handful of shorts directed by Wes Anderson.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 28 May 2025
This satire of art institutions and the people who populate them rings true.
—Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 24 May 2025
And the various executives who populate it had to look like their real-life counterparts, though maybe not with the persistent, post-pandemic embrace of athleisure.
—Mikey O'Connell, HollywoodReporter, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for populate
PC Magazine, 29 May 2025
There are dozens upon dozens of memorable eccentrics, delusional antiheroes, blustery authority figures, sad sacks, screw-ups and all-too-lovable schmucks that populate the 12 feature films and handful of shorts directed by Wes Anderson.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 28 May 2025
This satire of art institutions and the people who populate them rings true.
—Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 24 May 2025
And the various executives who populate it had to look like their real-life counterparts, though maybe not with the persistent, post-pandemic embrace of athleisure.
—Mikey O'Connell, HollywoodReporter, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for populate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for populate
Verb
-
As the novel goes on, the more brutal a character’s conditions are, the more carefully Choi writes them, forcing readers to slow down and inhabit them.—
Lily Meyer,
The Atlantic,
3 June 2025
-
With the help of vampire-biochemist Matthew Clairmont (Matthew Goode), Diana sets about solving the book's mysteries while avoiding attacks from angry spirits and monsters that inhabit the pages.—
Declan Gallagher,
EW.com,
1 June 2025
Verb
-
Sure, your team is still peopled with the same flawed human beings, still maddeningly inconsistent and impossible to predict.—
Vinson Cunningham,
New Yorker,
2 June 2025
-
Louis is the kind of polarizing character who people either really loved or loved to hate.—
Max Gao,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Sep. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Populate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/populate. Accessed 17 Jun. 2025.
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