deforestation

noun de·for·es·ta·tion \ (ˌ)dē-ˌfȯr-ə-ˈstā-shən , -ˌfär- \

|Updated on: 8 Aug 2018

Examples: deforestation in a Sentence

Definition of deforestation

: the action or process of clearing of forests; also : the state of having been cleared of forests

—

deforest

play \(ˈ)dē-ˈfȯr-əst, -ˈfär-\ transitive verb

See deforestation defined for English-language learners

See deforestation defined for kids

Examples of deforestation in a Sentence

the deforestation of the island

Recent Examples of deforestation from the Web

Similarly, the prince’s foundation has worked to protect bluefin tuna, monitor the Mediterranean, and stop deforestation worldwide.

— amelia nierenberg, BostonGlobe.com, "Royalty comes to Woods Hole on a mission to protect world’s oceans," 9 July 2018
Worried about such deforestation, environmental advocates are driving a project to create a DNA database of populations of the bigleaf maple tree on the West Coast.

— sandra e. garcia, New York Times, "Can a DNA Database Save the Trees? These Scientists Hope So," 22 June 2018
Tom Cooper, chief of the Midwest Regional Migratory Birds Program with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said warmer winters and deforestation could be a part of the reason for the move.

— jordyn hermani, Indianapolis Star, "Black vultures are eating cows alive. But it's difficult to legally kill the birds.," 13 July 2018
Scientists don’t know exactly which combination of factors—shifting climate patterns, human sprawl, deforestation—is leading to more ticks in more places.

— megan molteni, WIRED, "We Have No Idea How Bad the US Tick Problem Is," 4 July 2018
After being hidden for centuries, these strange shapes have been made visible because of deforestation over the past few years.

— doyle rice, USA TODAY, "Dozens of ancient villages discovered in 'uninhabited' Amazon rain forest," 27 Mar. 2018
Other research suggests that deforestation could affect regional precipitation patterns.

— chelsea harvey, Scientific American, "2017 Was a Really Bad Year for Tropical Forests," 28 June 2018
The satellite data also provided a clearer picture of Brazil’s vast Amazon rain forests, long vulnerable to widespread deforestation.

— New York Times, "Tropical Forests Suffered Near-Record Tree Losses in 2017," 27 June 2018
Takeaway: The measure, which takes effect 10 days after election results are declared, restricts deforestation by setting a cap of 795 additional acres of oak trees that can be cut to plant vines in land zoned as agricultural watershed.

— esther mobley, SFChronicle.com, "Measure to restrict Napa County vineyards neck and neck in early returns," 5 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'deforestation.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.