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
These are digital environments populated by AI agents with goals, memories, and incentives—each one designed to approximate a real-world behavioral profile.
—
Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2026
An officer will take a photo that auto-populates the student’s information, expediting the entry process, a CBP spokesperson said.
—Alexandra Mendoza, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Apr. 2026
The area Quiet and off the tourist path—smallholders and rice farmers populate a small and friendly local village with a lively market managed entirely by women.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Apr. 2026
News outlets slowly picked up on providing comment functions, hesitant at first to introduce the possibility for readers to leave their opinions directly and uninhibited in spaces formerly exclusively populated by professional journalists.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for populate
Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2026
An officer will take a photo that auto-populates the student’s information, expediting the entry process, a CBP spokesperson said.
—Alexandra Mendoza, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Apr. 2026
The area Quiet and off the tourist path—smallholders and rice farmers populate a small and friendly local village with a lively market managed entirely by women.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Apr. 2026
News outlets slowly picked up on providing comment functions, hesitant at first to introduce the possibility for readers to leave their opinions directly and uninhibited in spaces formerly exclusively populated by professional journalists.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for populate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for populate
Verb
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The effect is less about measurable temperature reduction and more about cultivating a breathable, moderated atmosphere—one that feels softer against the skin and easier to inhabit through long summer days.—
Nolan Lewis,
Architectural Digest,
27 Apr. 2026
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Over pinwheeling synths, Mahesh inhabits her narrator’s misplaced longing with gooey, heart-eyed delusion and sweetly pathetic determination.—
Harry Tafoya,
Pitchfork,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Hypocrisy, not rail spindles or dog poop, is top of the play’s agenda, and to poke around that subject the playwright has peopled his work with a collection of character types.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
21 Apr. 2026
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The characters who people the novel rise to speak for themselves.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Populate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/populate. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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