vegetation
Americannoun
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vegetations
plural
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all the plants or plant life of a place, taken as a whole.
the vegetation of the Nile valley.
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the act or process of vegetating.
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a dull existence; life devoid of mental or social activity.
- Synonyms:
- lethargy, sloth, idleness, inactivity
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Pathology. a morbid growth, or excrescence.
noun
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plant life as a whole, esp the plant life of a particular region
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the process of vegetating
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pathol any abnormal growth, excrescence, etc
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a vegetative existence
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The plants of an area or a region; plant life.
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An abnormal bodily accretion, especially a clot composed largely of fused blood platelets, fibrin, and sometimes bacteria, that adheres to a diseased heart valve.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonvegetationnoun
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prevegetationnoun
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undervegetationnoun
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vegetationaladjective
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vegetationlessadjective
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vegetatiousadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of vegetation
1555–65; < Medieval Latin vegetātiōn- (stem of vegetātiō ), equivalent to vegetāt- ( see vegetate) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
Use the word vegetation to refer to all plants and trees collectively, typically those in a specific region. The vegetation in your backyard might look very lush and green in the springtime, unless you forget to water it. Vegetation, as well as meaning all plant growth, can refer to the growth process of a plant. The lettuce you planted a couple weeks ago is at an early stage of vegetation. Vegetation can also apply to people — or at least to those in a state of inactivity. Think about how slowly plants grow. It’s the same for a person who’s in a state of vegetation. You may sometimes enjoy the mindless vegetation of doing nothing at all.
Vocabulary lists containing vegetation
Physical Geography - Introductory
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Weather and Climate - Introductory
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Physical Geography - Middle School
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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.
See Examples For:
“This is not January 2025. The winds are not going to be anywhere near as strong. They will not be as widespread. The vegetation is not as dry,” Swain said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
Many of these fires in Indonesia's forests and peatlands are caused by the razing of vegetation to clear land - a practice known as "slash and burn".
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
Elsewhere across Italy, different shades of green and brown reveal variations in vegetation, farming activity, and land cover.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2026
The common link seems to be Daisy Wolcott, a wealthy eccentric who devoted her life and fortune to the discovery and preservation of obscure vegetation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
The earth’s vegetation is part of a web of life in which there are intimate and essential relations between plants and the earth, between plants and other plants, between plants and animals.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
But because the wetlands are destroyed, vegetations are destroyed, the little water bodies are now being encroached upon.
From Scientific American ● Dec. 17, 2021
Largemouth bass are fair on plastic worms and spinners moving just a bit shallower on warm days feeding near vegetations.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 13, 2021
Black bass are good with vegetations early on topwater, but overall the afternoon is when you want to be fishing.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 18, 2020
Black bass are good with rocks, vegetations, and drops.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 11, 2020
Clothes never dried: tweed and woolen coats housed living things, sometimes sprouted mysterious vegetations.
From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
