as in occupying
to be in a place for a period of time
We need to protect the forests and also the wildlife that inhabits them. The people who inhabit the island take great pride in their art.
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Recent Examples of inhabiting
Around another corner is Hagar in the Wilderness (1875), still inhabiting the wasteland around her after being scorned by Abraham.
—
Tyehimba Jess, ARTnews.com, 17 Apr. 2026
The translator is keenly aware of inhabiting this space.
—Literary Hub, 14 Apr. 2026
Puppets create a liminal space between the quotidian and the fantastic, while inhabiting the same, actual three-dimensional space as the rest of us.
—Television Critic, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2026
Characters are constantly zipping through the two-story rotating set, from classroom to kitchen to banquet hall, inhabiting their stories in alternating snippets.
—Justin Davidson, Vulture, 7 Apr. 2026
That cross-continental team pooled expertise to confirm the frog as a distinct species — one that had been quietly inhabiting its mountainous ecosystem, unrecognized by science until now.
—Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 5 Apr. 2026
While the Oscars have been held downtown before, previously inhabiting the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and the Shrine Auditorium, the Dolby Theatre has been synonymous with the event for the past two decades.
—Rebecca Ford, Vanity Fair, 26 Mar. 2026
Despite inhabiting such wildly differing worlds, a rivalry was born from those two FA Cup clashes in 2023, particularly the replay, which ended with players clashing in the tunnel and then indulging in a mutual bout of post-match mud-slinging, as each team accused the other of lacking respect.
—Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2026
Daisy Duck This eyelash curler truly leaves no crumbs, but is Daisy Duck inhabiting anyone else’s body?
—Fiona Landers, New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2026
Tyehimba Jess, ARTnews.com, 17 Apr. 2026
The translator is keenly aware of inhabiting this space.
—Literary Hub, 14 Apr. 2026
Puppets create a liminal space between the quotidian and the fantastic, while inhabiting the same, actual three-dimensional space as the rest of us.
—Television Critic, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2026
Characters are constantly zipping through the two-story rotating set, from classroom to kitchen to banquet hall, inhabiting their stories in alternating snippets.
—Justin Davidson, Vulture, 7 Apr. 2026
That cross-continental team pooled expertise to confirm the frog as a distinct species — one that had been quietly inhabiting its mountainous ecosystem, unrecognized by science until now.
—Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 5 Apr. 2026
While the Oscars have been held downtown before, previously inhabiting the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and the Shrine Auditorium, the Dolby Theatre has been synonymous with the event for the past two decades.
—Rebecca Ford, Vanity Fair, 26 Mar. 2026
Despite inhabiting such wildly differing worlds, a rivalry was born from those two FA Cup clashes in 2023, particularly the replay, which ended with players clashing in the tunnel and then indulging in a mutual bout of post-match mud-slinging, as each team accused the other of lacking respect.
—Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2026
Daisy Duck This eyelash curler truly leaves no crumbs, but is Daisy Duck inhabiting anyone else’s body?
—Fiona Landers, New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inhabiting
Verb
-
Thorson is a native of Melbourne, Australia, which will allow the Vikings to keep him without occupying a roster spot.—
Alec Lewis,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
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Despite the truce, both sides continue to strike each other, and Israeli forces have been occupying a buffer zone in Lebanon, demolishing some neighborhoods.—
Samy Magdy,
Fortune,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The unseen connections between sport, life, music, and the living earth are set to the timeless tunes of the Grateful Dead.—
William Earl,
Variety,
29 Apr. 2026
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And, over the years, the sexier saltwater tanks have been paired with living representations of the Great Lakes, which contain far more life than many assume.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Inhabiting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inhabiting. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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