Meaning & use
deforest
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To clear an area of trees, usually to use the land for other purposes.
Grammar: Takes an object: deforest an area.
Patterns
- deforest an area
- deforest a region
The company was fined for deforesting the protected land.
Farmers deforest the land to create pastures.
Large areas of the Amazon have been deforested in recent decades.
verbtransitive
To remove trees from a forest, often causing environmental damage.
Grammar: Takes an object: deforest the forest.
Patterns
- deforest the forest
- deforest the land
Illegal logging has deforested much of the region.
They deforested the hillside, leading to soil erosion.
Word forms
| third person singular | deforests |
|---|---|
| past tense | deforested |
| past participle | deforested |
| present participle | deforesting |
Common combinations
- deforest an area
- The government banned companies from deforesting the area.
- deforest the land
- They deforested the land to build houses.
- deforest the rainforest
- Logging companies continue to deforest the rainforest.
- illegally deforest
- He was accused of illegally deforesting the national park.
Synonyms and how they differ
- clear
- Clear means to remove trees or other obstacles; deforest is more specific to forests.
- denude
- Denude means to strip bare; it can refer to any covering, not just trees.
Opposites
Word family
- deforestation noun
- The cutting down of trees in a forest.
- deforested adjective
- Having had trees removed.
Commonly confused: deforest or reforest?
deforest vs reforest
Reforest means to plant trees again in an area that was deforested.
Practice
The company was fined for _______ the protected land.
Choose one answer.
The gerund 'deforesting' is correct after the preposition 'for'. 'Deforest' is the base form, 'deforested' is the past tense, and 'deforestation' is a noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “deforest”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.