deforest

verb

de·​for·​est (ˌ)dē-ˈfȯr-əst How to pronounce deforest (audio)
-ˈfär-
deforested; deforesting; deforests

transitive verb

: to clear (an area) of forests : to remove trees from (an area)
As eroded hillsides become useless, the displaced farmers move still farther up the mountains, deforesting still more land.Jane Jacobs
Overgrazing has joined with the wide use of wood fuels to deforest large areas.Nathaniel Sheppard, Jr.

Examples of deforest in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Brazil is one of the world’s biggest beef exporters, with more cattle than people, and in the Amazon, 86% of the areas deforested between 1985 and 2020 became pastures, according to an analysis from environmental nonprofit Imazon. Andre Cabette Fabio, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Dec. 2023 England has been deforested for a very, very, very long time, because it's been quite heavily settled. Matt Simon, WIRED, 27 Nov. 2023 The state was 80 percent deforested by the end of the 19th century, so even though much has grown back and our topography now is far more wooded than not, most of it is relatively new growth. Chris Bohjalian, Washington Post, 9 Nov. 2023 During his previous presidential term, between 2007 and 2010, the rate at which the Brazilian Amazon was being deforested plunged to record lows. Terrence McCoy, Washington Post, 16 July 2023 The jump is due to clearing of areas deforested in the second half of 2022, Jair Schmitt, head of environmental protection at Ibama, Brazil’s federal environmental agency, told The Associated Press. Ananya Bhattacharya, Quartz, 7 July 2023 The same amount of forested land would go for $3.80, but the buyers would have to deforest and occupy it themselves. Washington Post, 17 Mar. 2022 Saving the Amazon is also entwined with the rights of Indigenous people; a growing body of research suggests that lands stewarded by Indigenous people are deforested less. Emma Bryce, Scientific American, 20 Feb. 2023 Environmental enforcement typically weakens in election years and criminals may rush to deforest ahead of a new government taking office, according to Carlos Souza Jr, a researcher at Imazon, a Brazilian research institution. Rodrigo Pedroso and Jorge Engels, CNN, 4 July 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'deforest.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

de- + forest entry 1

First Known Use

1661, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of deforest was in 1661

Dictionary Entries Near deforest

Cite this Entry

“Deforest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deforest. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Biographical Definition

De Forest

biographical name

De For·​est di-ˈfȯr-əst How to pronounce De Forest (audio)
-ˈfär-
Lee 1873–1961 American inventor

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