Meanings
present singular third person defoliates · participle present defoliating · participle past defoliated · past defoliated
- transitiveTo remove foliage from (one or more plants), most often with a chemical agent.
Agent Orange was used to defoliate jungle vegetation.
1 more example
These leaves are the moth’s only source of food, and if left unchecked, the caterpillars can completely defoliate a single mighty tree.
2020, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments, Minneapolis: Milkweed Editions, →ISBN, page 2
comparative more defoliate · superlative most defoliate
- Deprived of leaves; defoliated.
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivedeprived of leaves
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*de
- Proto-Indo-European*déh₁
- Proto-Italic*dē
- Latindē
- Latindē-
- Englishde-
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰleh₃-
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰolh₃yom?
- Proto-Indo-European*dʰelh₁-
- Proto-Indo-European*dʰolh₁yom?
- Proto-Italic*foljom
- Latinfolium
- Latinfoliatus
- Englishfoliate
- Englishdefoliate
Translations
Bulgarian обезлистявам
- обезлистявам (obezlistjavam)to remove foliage from plants
Catalan defoliar
- defoliarto remove foliage from plants
French défolier
- défolierto remove foliage from plants
German entlauben
- entlaubento remove foliage from plants
Māori kōmuku
- kōmukuto remove foliage from plants
Portuguese desfolhar
- desfolharto remove foliage from plants
Spanish defoliar
- defoliarto remove foliage from plants
Swedish avlöva
- avlövato remove foliage from plants
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
defoliate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/defoliate
“defoliate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/defoliate. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “defoliate,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/defoliate.
Source: defoliate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.