as in to inhabit
to supply with inhabitants
a small island populated only by woodland creatures
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of populate
The South by Southwest Conference and Festival is often populated with splashy activations from companies promising groundbreaking tech in the near future.
—
Beck Andrew Salgado, Austin American Statesman, 30 July 2025
So, New Zealand—English-speaking, low in crime, lightly populated, and free of gift, estate, and wealth taxes—is looking like paradise.
—Alison Boleyn, Robb Report, 26 July 2025
And lots of people to populate the resulting space.
—David Lyman, The Enquirer, 25 July 2025
Gurdon argues these buffer zones are a weakness for China, as they are populated by resentful, non-Chinese ethnicities.
—Amy Delaura, The Washington Examiner, 23 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for populate
Beck Andrew Salgado, Austin American Statesman, 30 July 2025
So, New Zealand—English-speaking, low in crime, lightly populated, and free of gift, estate, and wealth taxes—is looking like paradise.
—Alison Boleyn, Robb Report, 26 July 2025
And lots of people to populate the resulting space.
—David Lyman, The Enquirer, 25 July 2025
Gurdon argues these buffer zones are a weakness for China, as they are populated by resentful, non-Chinese ethnicities.
—Amy Delaura, The Washington Examiner, 23 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for populate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for populate
Verb
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Shine, the beloved and respected editor and publisher of the Detroit Free Press, died in 2007, leaving behind a legacy of cooperation and unity as a booster of Detroit, the metro area and the people who inhabit it.—
Georgea Kovanis,
Freep.com,
10 Aug. 2025
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The spaces — in Brookfield, Cudahy, Glendale, Greendale, Waukesha and West Allis — are all high-profile shopping venues, most previously inhabited by brand-name retailers and some of which have now stepped into the retail afterlife.—
Jim Riccioli,
jsonline.com,
9 Aug. 2025
Verb
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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
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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 19 Aug. 2025.
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