defoliate
/diːˈfəʊliː(j)eɪt/verb, adjective
defoliate is spelled D-E-F-O-L-I-A-T-E: 9 letters. It appears about once in every 32 million words in written English, the 171,907th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, defoliate means “To remove foliage from (one or more plants), most often with a chemical agent” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in defoliate?
| Letters | 9: D-E-F-O-L-I-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 32 million words; the 171,907th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is defoliate?
Defoliate appears about once in every 32 million words in written English, the 171,907th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce defoliate?
- UK /diːˈfəʊliː(j)eɪt/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forms of defoliate
- defoliates present, singular, he/she/it
- defoliating participle, present
- defoliated participle, past
- more defoliate comparative
- most defoliate superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does defoliate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To remove foliage from (one or more plants), most often with a chemical agent.
Agent Orange was used to defoliate jungle vegetation.
adjective
- 1
Deprived of leaves; defoliated.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Defoliate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to remove foliage from plants:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does defoliate come from?
From de- + foliate.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).