as in inhabiting
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 populating
The married duo of restaurateur Tracy Vaught and chef Hugo Ortega has made an indelible mark on Space City’s dining scene, populating Houston with Mexican restaurants that each tackle different subgenres of the cuisine.
—
Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 16 June 2026
The cars populating it are some pretty inspired picks—a 986 Porsche Boxster, original Renault Twingo, E39 BMW M5, etcetera.
—Adam Ismail, The Drive, 11 June 2026
The song just came to me, from somewhere, populating seamlessly in a stream of consciousness.
—Wyatt Williams, Harpers Magazine, 2 June 2026
His victim, in her unassailable purity, resists him, thereby proving that the arrivistes populating the ranks of England’s most upwardly mobile class had a moral edge over the nobility.
—Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
That’s a risk for some artists, but Kehlani proved the potency of her latest by populating her set with newbies.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 1 June 2026
Among a slew of criminals and gangsters populating Paramount Plus’ streaming catalog, Mobland has stood out as a hit.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026
The plot itself isn’t extraordinary but the critters populating this forest wonderland are, from deer that have the DNA of trees (an enchanting image) to a rainbowed grouper with a dorsal fin (voiced by Cedric the Entertainer).
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 7 May 2026
In January, the platform released an album touting its music possibilities, populating the tracklist with an assortment of cloned vocalists, including Liza Minelli.
—Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 29 Apr. 2026
Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 16 June 2026
The cars populating it are some pretty inspired picks—a 986 Porsche Boxster, original Renault Twingo, E39 BMW M5, etcetera.
—Adam Ismail, The Drive, 11 June 2026
The song just came to me, from somewhere, populating seamlessly in a stream of consciousness.
—Wyatt Williams, Harpers Magazine, 2 June 2026
His victim, in her unassailable purity, resists him, thereby proving that the arrivistes populating the ranks of England’s most upwardly mobile class had a moral edge over the nobility.
—Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
That’s a risk for some artists, but Kehlani proved the potency of her latest by populating her set with newbies.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 1 June 2026
Among a slew of criminals and gangsters populating Paramount Plus’ streaming catalog, Mobland has stood out as a hit.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026
The plot itself isn’t extraordinary but the critters populating this forest wonderland are, from deer that have the DNA of trees (an enchanting image) to a rainbowed grouper with a dorsal fin (voiced by Cedric the Entertainer).
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 7 May 2026
In January, the platform released an album touting its music possibilities, populating the tracklist with an assortment of cloned vocalists, including Liza Minelli.
—Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 29 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for populating
Verb
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But [Reeves] was inhabiting the same environment of Fort Smith and Fort Worth that the Duttons did in 1883.—
Samantha Stutsman,
PEOPLE,
6 June 2026
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Microraptor’s cousins lived on the ground, but inhabiting the canopy and gliding from tree to tree might have been a safer way to stay out of reach of larger meat-eating dinosaurs.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
4 June 2026
Verb
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There’s plenty of room for skepticism about the prospect of humans colonizing Mars.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
8 June 2026
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Neither the French nor the Spanish ever invested significantly in colonizing the land west of the upper Mississippi, and Americans were champing at the bit.—
Trevor Hughes,
USA Today,
31 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Populating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/populating. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
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