Defoliate definition

dē-fōlē-āt

Words form:

Frequency:

To deprive (a plant or a vegetated area, for example) of leaves.

verb

To cause the leaves of (a plant or plants) to fall off, especially by the use of chemicals.

verb

To lose foliage.

verb

To strip (trees, etc.) of leaves.

verb

To use a defoliant on.

verb

To remove foliage from (one or more plants), most often with a chemical agent.

Agent Orange was used to defoliate jungle vegetation.

verb

Deprived of leaves; defoliated.

adjective

Origin of defoliate

Late Latin dēfoliāre dēfoliāt- Latin dē- de- Latin folium leaf bhel-³ in Indo-European roots

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
de- +‎ foliate

From Wiktionary