Meaning of "defoliate" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD DEFOLIATE

From Medieval Latin dēfoliāre, from Latin de- + folium leaf.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF DEFOLIATE

defoliate  [diːˈfəʊlɪˌeɪt]

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF DEFOLIATE

Defoliate is a verb and can also act as an adjective.

The adjective is the word that accompanies the noun to determine or qualify it.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb defoliate in English.

WHAT DOES DEFOLIATE MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Defoliant

A defoliant is any chemical sprayed or dusted on plants to cause its leaves to fall off. A classic example of a highly toxic defoliant is Agent Orange, which the British military used abundantly to defoliate regions of Malaya during the Malayan Emergency, and the U.S. military to defoliate regions of Vietnam during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1970. Defoliants differ from herbicides in that the former seeks mainly to strip leaves from plants, and the latter is used to destroy or inhibit the growth of plants. Defoliants are used in cotton production to aid harvesting.

Definition of defoliate in the English dictionary

The definition of defoliate in the dictionary is to deprive of its leaves, as by the use of a herbicide, or to shed its leaves. Other definition of defoliate is having shed its leaves.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO DEFOLIATE

PRESENT

Present

I defoliate

you defoliate

he/she/it defoliates

we defoliate

you defoliate

they defoliate

Present continuous

I am defoliating

you are defoliating

he/she/it is defoliating

we are defoliating

you are defoliating

they are defoliating

Present perfect

I have defoliated

you have defoliated

he/she/it has defoliated

we have defoliated

you have defoliated

they have defoliated

Present perfect continuous

I have been defoliating

you have been defoliating

he/she/it has been defoliating

we have been defoliating

you have been defoliating

they have been defoliating

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I defoliated

you defoliated

he/she/it defoliated

we defoliated

you defoliated

they defoliated

Past continuous

I was defoliating

you were defoliating

he/she/it was defoliating

we were defoliating

you were defoliating

they were defoliating

Past perfect

I had defoliated

you had defoliated

he/she/it had defoliated

we had defoliated

you had defoliated

they had defoliated

Past perfect continuous

I had been defoliating

you had been defoliating

he/she/it had been defoliating

we had been defoliating

you had been defoliating

they had been defoliating

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will defoliate

you will defoliate

he/she/it will defoliate

we will defoliate

you will defoliate

they will defoliate

Future continuous

I will be defoliating

you will be defoliating

he/she/it will be defoliating

we will be defoliating

you will be defoliating

they will be defoliating

Future perfect

I will have defoliated

you will have defoliated

he/she/it will have defoliated

we will have defoliated

you will have defoliated

they will have defoliated

Future perfect continuous

I will have been defoliating

you will have been defoliating

he/she/it will have been defoliating

we will have been defoliating

you will have been defoliating

they will have been defoliating

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would defoliate

you would defoliate

he/she/it would defoliate

we would defoliate

you would defoliate

they would defoliate

Conditional continuous

I would be defoliating

you would be defoliating

he/she/it would be defoliating

we would be defoliating

you would be defoliating

they would be defoliating

Conditional perfect

I would have defoliate

you would have defoliate

he/she/it would have defoliate

we would have defoliate

you would have defoliate

they would have defoliate

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been defoliating

you would have been defoliating

he/she/it would have been defoliating

we would have been defoliating

you would have been defoliating

they would have been defoliating

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you defoliate
we let´s defoliate
you defoliate

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to defoliate

Past participle

defoliated

Present Participle

defoliating

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

TRANSLATION OF DEFOLIATE

Find out the translation of defoliate to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of defoliate from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «defoliate» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 落叶
• Translator English - Spanish: defoliar
• English: defoliate
• Translator English - Hindi: पत्तों से रहित
• Translator English - Arabic: defoliate
• Translator English - Russian: уничтожать растительность
• Translator English - Portuguese: desfolhar
• Translator English - Bengali: পত্রশূন্য
• Translator English - French: défolier
• Translator English - Malay: Defoliate
• Translator English - German: entlauben
• Translator English - Japanese: 落葉した
• Translator English - Korean: defoliate
• Translator English - Javanese: Defoliate
• Translator English - Vietnamese: ngắt
• Translator English - Tamil: defoliate
• Translator English - Marathi: कमी होणे
• Translator English - Turkish: yaprakları dökmek
• Translator English - Italian: sfogliare
• Translator English - Polish: defoliate
• Translator English - Ukrainian: знищувати рослинність
• Translator English - Romanian: desfrunzi
• Translator English - Greek: αποφυλλώ
• Translator English - Afrikaans: defoliate
• Translator English - Swedish: defoliate
• Translator English - Norwegian: defoliate

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «DEFOLIATE»

Discover the use of defoliate in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to defoliate and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

Pests of Crops in Warmer Climates and Their Control

Migratory Locusts Acrididae Africa, Asia Defoliate Short-horned Grasshoppers Acrididae Cosmopolitan Defoliate Mole Crickets Gryllotalpidae Cosmopolitan Destroy roots Field Crickets Gryllidae Cosmopolitan Defoliate & destroy roots ...

Dennis S. Hill, 2008

Environmental Forest Science: Proceedings of the IUFRO ...

3 Size of the dominant convex and concave shapes in the forest canopy triangle: foliate season square: defoliate season season. The values of Is for convex and concave shapes reach maximums remarkably when the block area is 5.0m ...

Kyoji Sassa, 1998

Forest Entomology

The larvae of the Geometrid, Ascotis inflixaria Wlk.,Cusiala raptaria Wlk., Hyposidra successaria Wlk., Semiothisa streniataria Wlk., Tephrina disputaria Guenee., and Traminda mundissima Wlk., defoliate the foliage of A. nilotica. The larvae of ...

Lalit Kumar Jha, P. K. Sen-Sarma, 2008

Cotton Production Manual

Lack of severe water stress during the growing season produces leaves that defoliate more readily. Leaves that are still expanding will develop a thick, relatively impenetrable waxy cuticle when they are stressed for water. This cuticle is ...

S. Johnson Hake, T. A. Kerby, K. D. Hake, 1996

Indigenous Fruit Trees in the Tropics: Domestication, ...

In the miombo woodlands of northern Zambia, caterpillars of the emperor moths Gynanisa maja and Gonimbrasia zambesina defoliate Uapaca kirkiana, U. banguelensis, U. sansibarica, Anisophyllea boehmii, Parinari curatellifolia and ...

Festus K. Akinnifesi, 2008

Impact of Perillus bioculatus on the Colorado potato beetle ...

Estimated number of days required for the field population of Leptinotarsa decemlineata to completely defoliate different size potatoes as measured in the field at biweekly intervals Number of days to completely defoliate based on population ...

George Tamaki, Bill A. Butt, United States. Science and Education Administration, 1978

Safire's Political Dictionary

By the time Secretary of State James A. Baker III appeared defoliate 173 before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in 1990, however, the phrase was being used as a plural and applied to larger contexts. “The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait,” ...

William Safire, 2008

The Invertebrate Pests of Annual Food Crops in Central ...

Damage: Adults feed on foliage and flowers, may girdle the stems and defoliate seedlings; larvae feed on and mine roots and base of the stem; reduce vigour or cau« death of small plants. Adults transmit bacterial wilt and cucumber mosaic ...

Andrew B. S. King, Joseph L. Saunders, 1984

Agricultural Insect Pests of Temperate Regions and Their Control

Cressonia juglandis (J.E. Sm.) Walnut Sphinx Sphingidac may defoliate Malacosoma spp. Tent Caterpillars Lasiocampidac Europe, Asia Larvae defoliate gregariously Rhagoletis completa Cresson Walnut Husk Fly Tephritidae USA Larvae ...

Dennis S. Hill, 1987

Miscellaneous Publication

Pomphopoea aenea (Say), and P. sayi LeC. defoliate seedlings in nurseries and in ornamental plantings in the Midwest. The ash-gray blister beetle, Epicauta fabricii (LeC.) E. subglabra (Fall), and Lytta muttalli Say defoliate Caranga in 120.

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «DEFOLIATE»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term defoliate is used in the context of the following news items.

Gypsy moth suppression program needs homeowner input

The species feeds on more than 200 different trees and can defoliate them year after year, Mr. Marasco told attendees. “This part of the state ... «Scranton Times-Tribune, Jul 15»

US Government Admits It Poisoned Soldiers with Agent Orange After …

As noted by the non-partisan Aspen Institute in Washington, D.C., the herbicide was a mixture used by the military to defoliate large swaths of ... «Center for Research on Globalization, Jul 15»

Maple trees in southeast Chatham backyard threatened by invasive …

When in larger numbers, gypsy moth caterpillars can defoliate, or remove the leaves from, trees. Quick defoliation can kill a tree. Though ... «Chatham Daily News, Jul 15»

Preventing your tomato plant from going bad

Both diseases can defoliate your tomato plants and can ruin the quality of the fruit if not prevented at the early stage. Remove the leaf at the first ... «Green Bay Press Gazette, Jul 15»

Viburnum leaf beetles have made way to Pa., but you can limit …

Heavy infestations can completely defoliate shrubs and cause significant dieback. Adult beetles are about a quarter-inch long, with the females ... «Tribune-Review, Jul 15»

Plants are a lot like businesses

Why did some of my azaleas defoliate and others have half the leaves tan? Why is my holly fern getting brown edges on the leaves? No, these ... «Bryan County News, Jul 15»

Wichita gardener's almanac for July 4

The caterpillars can defoliate a tree, usually without harm, but the tree then looks bad until it can put on new leaves. Last call for tomato and ... «Wichita Eagle, Jul 15»

A Special New Memorial Remembers Vietnam Soldiers

There are seven names on the plaque, of those stricken by the toxic chemical used to defoliate Vietnam's forests. “Those seven families are ... «MyStateline.com, Jul 15»

City warns of spruce sawfly issue

Later in the fly's life, it can defoliate new needle growth leaving just partial needles behind. Multiple years of infestation will give a tree a reddish ... «Alberta Daily Herald Tribune, Jul 15»

Gardening: Your July lawn and garden checklist

Watch for horn worms as they can defoliate a plant in just a few days. The horn worm is a large green worm with a sprig on its posterior end. «Naples Daily News, Jul 15»