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Glite Dictionary
to deforest

to deforest

3 6.0
To cut down most trees in an area so very few remain
  • verb
  • /dɪˈfɔrɪst/
translation icon : deforestar
  • Likewise, the Brazilian Association of Meat Exporters has agreed to boycott cattle from recently deforested segments of the Amazon.
  • deforested land
  • deforested area
  • previously deforested

And when you talk about deforestation, we're deforesting to clear land for grazing and raising crops for animal feed.

Examples

  • The army ants are going on as they're deforesting the jungle.

  • The Quabbin watershed is being systematically deforested, and the plan is to continue this destruction.

    Blog text (19)

  • But that said, a lot of these areas have some some pretty extreme violence because big land owners will come in and will deforest areas.

  • And but recognizing, of course, the people need to deforest to plant crops and often to use, use trees for, for housing construction.

  • One and a half centuries ago, farmers had deforested two-thirds of Connecticut.

    Academic text (2000)

  • Some ranchers also cut trees and deforested the margins of rangelands, particularly in the south.

    Academic text (2008)

  • When land is deforested for palm oil plantation, orangutans lose their habitat.

    Time to Choose (2015)

  • In the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, over 20,000 square miles have been deforested to grow soybeans for animal feed.

    Time to Choose (2015)

  • The mountain slopes backing Managua were deforested, and the subsequent wind and water erosion choked the capital city in dust and mud.

    Academic text (1990)

  • Farmers often deforest large areas to make way for new crops.

Synonyms

to clear-cut
vsto deforest
  • Specialized
2 6.1

To cut down all the trees in an area at once

focuses on clearing most or all trees rather than at a single time
to disforest
vsto deforest
9.9

To cut down all trees in an area to use the land

is the same meaning but used here as the main dictionary form
to clearcut
vsto deforest
  • US
5.6

To cut down all the trees in an area at once

is the same action but appears as an alternative spelling form
to disafforest
vsto deforest
  • Archaic
9.9

To remove trees or change the official status of land so it is no longer a forest

focuses on physically removing most or all trees rather than legal change

Antonyms

to reforest
1 4.4

To plant trees on land where a forest was cut down or destroyed

How Deforested

to clear-cut
  • Specialized
2 6.1
to deforest
3 6.0
to clear
∞ 1.5
to thin
38 1.4

Surface Forms

deforest infinitive
deforested past
deforested past participle
deforesting present participle
deforests third person singular

Morphology

deforest = forest (transparent) = de + forest

The verb is a standard and readily interpretable formation meaning to remove the forest or trees from an area.

Etymology

Deforest combines de- meaning 'remove' and forest meaning 'woods' or 'area of trees', so it literally means 'remove the forest'. That's why to deforest land is to cut down or remove most of its trees.