denude
Americanverb (used with object)
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to make naked or bare; strip.
The storm completely denuded the trees.
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Geology. to subject to denudation.
verb
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to divest of covering; make bare; uncover; strip
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to expose (rock) by the erosion of the layers above
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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denudesimple
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denudessimple
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have denudedperfect
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has denudedperfect
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am denudingprogressive
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are denudingprogressive
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is denudingprogressive
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have been denudingperfect progressive
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has been denudingperfect progressive
Past
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denudedsimple
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had denudedperfect
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was denudingprogressive
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were denudingprogressive
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had been denudingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of denude
First recorded in 1505–15; from Latin dēnūdāre, equivalent to dē- de- + nūdāre “to lay bare”; see nude
Explanation
When you denude something, you expose it by taking away what covers or protects it. Loggers who clearcut forests denude them of all trees. There are both natural and human-related ways to denude a piece of land or an area of the earth's surface. The erosion of sea water on the coast can denude beaches and coastlines, eroding and wearing them away. Pesticides used on large farms can denude entire regions of honey bees. The word comes from a Latin root, denudare, "to lay bare, strip, or expose," from de-, "away," and nudare, "to strip."
Vocabulary lists containing denude
Selected Short Stories of H.G. Wells
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The Underground Railroad
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Wise Blood
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Denude, de-nūd′, v.t. to make nude or naked: to lay bare.—n.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various
Denude: to free from covering; to rub so as to remove the surface covering of scales, hair or other vestiture.
From Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology by Smith, John. B.
What matter if their modes of capture Denude the land of every bird?
From Poems by Stoddard, John L. (John Lawson)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
