as in to inhabit
to supply with inhabitants a small island populated only by woodland creatures
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of populate As an existing subdivision — 99% of it vacant — Azure Vista offered hundreds of buildable vacant lots populated only by red ants, quail and Groucho Marx bugs. —
Eric Duvall, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026 But there’s much more to consider than just the movies that populate the marquees. —Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 10 Apr. 2026 People who see ghosts tend to see the same ghost wafting down the same staircase, but none of the characters populating Leo’s wacko hallucinations have returned for a repeat perfor-mance. —Literary Hub, 10 Apr. 2026 For all its potential silliness, real characters populate these bloody waters. —Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 10 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for populate
Eric Duvall, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Apr. 2026 But there’s much more to consider than just the movies that populate the marquees. —Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 10 Apr. 2026 People who see ghosts tend to see the same ghost wafting down the same staircase, but none of the characters populating Leo’s wacko hallucinations have returned for a repeat perfor-mance. —Literary Hub, 10 Apr. 2026 For all its potential silliness, real characters populate these bloody waters. —Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 10 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for populate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for populate
Verb
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Moist didn’t always inhabit such a precarious position in our psyche.— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 21 Apr. 2026
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Steve Whitmire inhabited Kermit the Frog, Beaker, Statler, Rizzo the Rat, Link Hogthrob, Lips and the Newsman across a single film.— Clayton Davis, Variety, 21 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The paradox of this quartet of movies up for the new casting Oscar, all boldly peopled with nonprofessionals, is that this very practice has become professionalized.— Richard Brody, New Yorker, 25 Feb. 2026
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Why can’t people RSVP properly for goodness’ sake?— Mary Shannon Wells, Southern Living, 21 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Populate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/thesaurus/populate. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
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