as in inhabiting
to supply with inhabitants
a small island populated only by woodland creatures
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Recent Examples of populating
The 300-second exposure shows the wandering solar system body as a minute dot, barely distinguishable among the stellar giants populating the distant starfield beyond.
—
Anthony Wood, Space.com, 1 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
The Emmy-winning Max comedy announced Tuesday the addition of 13 new guest stars planned for the fourth season — including those populating the writers room on Deborah Vance’s (Jean Smart) new late-night talk show.
—Mikey O'Connell, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Mar. 2025
Meanwhile, the plunging neckline trend has also been populating the red carpet over the past year.
—Marissa Muller, WWD, 2 Mar. 2025
There are spells, curses, vendettas, a twist villain, giant dragons who turn into humanoid warriors and many other creatures populating the world of this gargantuan feat of eye-popping computer animation.
—Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 2 Mar. 2025
Ferro’s surrounding neighbourhoods had two religious schools in the early 20th century, with an influx of Irish immigrants populating them.
—Jacob Tanswell, The Athletic, 20 Feb. 2025
Anthony Wood, Space.com, 1 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
The Emmy-winning Max comedy announced Tuesday the addition of 13 new guest stars planned for the fourth season — including those populating the writers room on Deborah Vance’s (Jean Smart) new late-night talk show.
—Mikey O'Connell, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Mar. 2025
Meanwhile, the plunging neckline trend has also been populating the red carpet over the past year.
—Marissa Muller, WWD, 2 Mar. 2025
There are spells, curses, vendettas, a twist villain, giant dragons who turn into humanoid warriors and many other creatures populating the world of this gargantuan feat of eye-popping computer animation.
—Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 2 Mar. 2025
Ferro’s surrounding neighbourhoods had two religious schools in the early 20th century, with an influx of Irish immigrants populating them.
—Jacob Tanswell, The Athletic, 20 Feb. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for populating
Verb
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This is a unique portrait of families and their foibles, both amusing and annoying, superbly acted by an exceptional cast fully inhabiting their characters.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
31 Aug. 2025
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Below, Newsweek has compared the policies of several major airlines so passengers inhabiting larger bodies can know what to do when flying.—
Kate Plummer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The original collection of short stories was published in 1950 and centered on Earth colonizing the Red Planet in a series of devastating expeditions, and its interactions with the world's psychic native inhabitants.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
24 Aug. 2025
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Calculating the costs of colonizing other planets remains elusive.—
James Cramer,
Baltimore Sun,
20 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Populating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/populating. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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