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 world Maddie lives in is populated by eccentric characters who wear their respective fixations on their sleeve.
—
Jourdain Searles, HollywoodReporter, 7 Sep. 2025
The integrity of our system of justice and the judicial system is based on the trust that people place in the jurists that populate that branch, the third branch of government.
—John E. Jones Iii, The Conversation, 5 Sep. 2025
They are populated by trolls, gore addicts, and, of course, aspiring shooters, who study, debate, and praise mass-shooting tactics and manifestos.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2025
Paramount President Jeff Shell told reporters at last month’s press conference marking the close of the Skydance merger that he had been struck by how sparsely populated the company’s current headquarters are at 1515 Broadway.
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for populate
Jourdain Searles, HollywoodReporter, 7 Sep. 2025
The integrity of our system of justice and the judicial system is based on the trust that people place in the jurists that populate that branch, the third branch of government.
—John E. Jones Iii, The Conversation, 5 Sep. 2025
They are populated by trolls, gore addicts, and, of course, aspiring shooters, who study, debate, and praise mass-shooting tactics and manifestos.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2025
Paramount President Jeff Shell told reporters at last month’s press conference marking the close of the Skydance merger that he had been struck by how sparsely populated the company’s current headquarters are at 1515 Broadway.
—Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 4 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for populate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for populate
Verb
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In San Francisco, a development called Hunters View built in 1956 to provide temporary workforce housing was still inhabited and badly deteriorating by the early 2000s.—
Jeffrey Steele,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
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Once inhabited by some of the city’s wealthiest families, Troost was the target of restrictive covenants in the early 20th century that drew a distinct line of separation.—
Kacen Bayless,
Kansas City Star,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Diamandis’s network, known to its constituents as the Peterverse, is largely peopled by slim, graying, well-off men who finger their Oura rings like horcruxes.—
Tad Friend,
New Yorker,
4 Aug. 2025
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The mountains are peopled with guides, trail keepers and fellow travelers, as well as those who have died on their treks when the weather turned.—
Sadie Stein,
New York Times,
6 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Populate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/populate. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
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