POPULATE Synonyms: 8 Similar and Opposite Words

populate

verb

ˈpä-pyə-ˌlāt

Definition of populate

as in to inhabit

to supply with inhabitants a small island populated only by woodland creatures

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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 Dante populated his realms of Hell and Purgatory with figures, monsters and moral frameworks borrowed directly from classical Greek and Roman myths. — Ed Meza, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026 And in a world increasingly populated by people who are absolutely certain that everyone who disagrees with them is either ignorant or immoral, our universities could use considerably more of all three. — Rabbi Bruce D. Forman, Sun Sentinel, 13 Oct. 2026 With few exceptions, Marvel’s Disney+ era has been populated with inessential stories stretched to TV length that better resemble movies. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 12 Oct. 2026 The dressing room was now populated by brightly dressed women, all of whom looked up from applying makeup to stare tightly at her in the doorframe. — Literary Hub, 9 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for populate

Recent Examples of Synonyms for populate

Verb

And in the event that someone wasn’t aware of what Children of Blood and Bone was, the panel did its job, promising an exuberant, swaggering epic with a charming cast to inhabit it.

— Joshua Rivera, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2026
The dwellings were built within Cliff Dweller Canyon and inhabited by people of the Mogollon Culture between the late 1270s and 1300.

— Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of inhabit

Verb

The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter Carson McCullers’ remarkable debut novel tells a story of the American South, one set in Georgia and peopled with a cast of characters that exist in a rich, layered, and challenging reality.

— Caroline Rogers, Southern Living, 22 Aug. 2026
Today, this part of the South Side seems to be almost entirely peopled by Black families.

— Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 20 June 2026

Definition of people

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popularizing

populate

populated

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“Populate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/populate. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of populate

verb

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