as in inhabiting
to supply with inhabitants
a small island populated only by woodland creatures
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Recent Examples of populating
That sets it apart from the myriad space operas populating big-budget TV in recent years; the relationships are the real substance of the show, the interstellar adventures are the dessert.
—
Will Harris, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Jan. 2026
Want to get a closer look at the diverse menagerie of worlds populating our solar system?
—Anthony Wood, Space.com, 26 Dec. 2025
There’s also the problem of sorting through the data and making sure the videos are accessible with the right credit and creator, which adds research hours to the task of populating diVine with Vine’s back catalog.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 24 Dec. 2025
Today, almost every Apple device—or indeed, most of the smart devices populating our workplaces and homes—draws its intelligence from Arm's innovative chipset architecture.
—Tim Bajarin, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
And populating all four of our RAM slots with a 32GB stick of DDR5 avoids any unsightly blank spots inside our case.
—ArsTechnica, 18 Aug. 2025
The last major new feature, Healthspan, takes three weeks of use to start populating information for physiological age and pace of aging.
—PC Magazine, 15 Aug. 2025
The couple’s brutal treatment of Mickey contrasts with their interest in populating a new world.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2025
Tracks from Deadbeat also take over Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, with eight of the album’s cuts populating the 25-position ranking, including six of the top 10.
—Keith Caulfield, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
Will Harris, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Jan. 2026
Want to get a closer look at the diverse menagerie of worlds populating our solar system?
—Anthony Wood, Space.com, 26 Dec. 2025
There’s also the problem of sorting through the data and making sure the videos are accessible with the right credit and creator, which adds research hours to the task of populating diVine with Vine’s back catalog.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 24 Dec. 2025
Today, almost every Apple device—or indeed, most of the smart devices populating our workplaces and homes—draws its intelligence from Arm's innovative chipset architecture.
—Tim Bajarin, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
And populating all four of our RAM slots with a 32GB stick of DDR5 avoids any unsightly blank spots inside our case.
—ArsTechnica, 18 Aug. 2025
The last major new feature, Healthspan, takes three weeks of use to start populating information for physiological age and pace of aging.
—PC Magazine, 15 Aug. 2025
The couple’s brutal treatment of Mickey contrasts with their interest in populating a new world.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2025
Tracks from Deadbeat also take over Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, with eight of the album’s cuts populating the 25-position ranking, including six of the top 10.
—Keith Caulfield, Billboard, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for populating
Verb
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The casting of Hahn will be a bit of a magical treat to fans, who for months had fan-cast her as the bad guy in this project, even when actress Scarlett Johansson was temporarily inhabiting it.—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Jan. 2026
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These felines lived up to their elusive reputation by inhabiting a swampy forest, an environment that requires navigating harsh natural obstacles to reach.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Dec. 2025
Verb
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What’s most troubling about that is Musk’s fixation with colonizing Mars.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
16 Jan. 2026
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Few analysts will be asking Musk about his long-term plans for colonizing Mars.—
Jessica Mathews,
Fortune,
16 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Populating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/populating. Accessed 21 Jan. 2026.
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