Synonyms of populate

populate

verb

ˈpä-pyə-ˌlāt 

as in to inhabit

to supply with inhabitants

a small island populated only by woodland creatures

Synonyms & Similar Words

• inhabit
• people
• colonize
• settle
• move (to)
• relocate (to)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• depopulate
• unpeople

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of populate

With a backbone laid out, the process next moved to ProteinMPNN, a tool that works along the backbone, populating it with specific amino acids. — ArsTechnica, 14 Oct. 2026

The ghosts populating Georgetown’s Oakhill Cemetery refuse to accept the circumstances — often abrupt or violent — that ended their lives. — ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026

Rubio’s idea of the West is both messier and simpler, populated by muscular explorers and conquerors, from Alexander the Great and the Frankish king Charlemagne to the conquistador Hernán Cortés and the frontiersmen of the American West. — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2026

And in a world increasingly populated by people who are absolutely certain that everyone who disagrees with them is either ignorant or immoral, our universities could use considerably more of all three. — Rabbi Bruce D. Forman, Sun Sentinel, 13 Oct. 2026