defoliating

verb

present participle of defoliate
as in barking

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for defoliating
  1. barking
  2. shelling
  3. flaying
  4. stripping
  5. skinning
  6. scaling
  7. exposing
  8. shucking
Verb
  • Each day, the women were woken at six, with the sounds of stomping boots and barking dogs.
    — Joshua Yaffa, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026
  • As umpires took the field and walked by the Braves’ dugout on the third base side, Sale began barking.
    — Larry Fleisher, Chicago Tribune, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of barking
Verb
  • Mansouri was subjected to Israeli shelling earlier this week, according to Lebanon’s state news agency.
    — Matthew Lee, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Pass the time shelling on its pristine beaches or swimming in the sparkling waters.
    — Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 16 July 2026
Definition of shelling
Verb
  • The end came with England on 50-0, with Stokes flaying Foulkes to Mitchell at mid-on.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 28 June 2026
  • Dwight grabbed my arm, wrenching my hand out of my pocket, flaying it like a fish, pulling me along.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 May 2026
Definition of flaying
Verb
  • The public is demanding evidence that these technologies are working for them, not replacing or stripping the humanity out of everyday interactions.
    — Brett White, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The Tennessee congressman had a history of controversial remarks, including claiming that Muslims are not welcome in American society and calling for the deportation of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, as well as stripping him of citizenship.
    — Mabinty Quarshie, The Washington Examiner, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of stripping
Verb
  • If hunting or skinning animals, use gloves, and cook game meat thoroughly before eating.
    — Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2026
  • If hunting, trapping or skinning animals, use gloves when handling animals and cook game meat thoroughly before eating, according to the CDC.
    — Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of skinning
Verb
  • Participation in the program plummeted after the passage of a 2023 law that made outdoor dining permanent while also scaling it back significantly.
    — Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Ukraine says Russia is scaling up its production of ballistic missiles, aiming to exploit Kyiv's critical shortage of Patriot air defense interceptors that can stop them.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of scaling
Verb
  • There is almost always a clean way to do that without exposing you and her to unknown risks and surprises.
    — Gary Singer, Sun Sentinel, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Recent observations of some little red dots at lower redshifts have shown the cloud of gas around the black hole begin to disintegrate, exposing the black hole and the X-rays produced by the accretion of gas onto it.
    — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of exposing
Verb
  • Did the grocery store place the trash can near the corn because folks were shucking with wild abandon and leaving behind a big mess?
    — Josh Miller, Southern Living, 12 June 2026
  • These stories usually involve a woman shucking societal norms of being nice, pretty, and obedient.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 May 2026
Definition of shucking
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

defoliates
defoliating
deforce
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Cite this Entry

“Defoliating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/defoliating. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

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