denude
verb
de·nude di-ˈn(y)üd 
dē-
denuded; denuding
transitive verb
1
: to deprive of something important
2
a
: to strip of all covering or surface layers
b
: to lay bare by erosion
c
: to strip (land) of forests
denudation
ˌdē-(ˌ)n(y)ü-ˈdā-shən
noun ˌden-yu̇-
denudement
di-ˈn(y)üd-mənt
noun 
Example Sentences
Excessive logging has denuded the hillside of trees.
Recent Examples on the Web Grasshoppers, which thrive in warm and arid weather have taken over and are beginning to denude trees. 
Julia Musto, Fox News, 27 June 2021 Kulhanek’s announcement threatens to denude one of Russia’s largest embassies in Europe in the wake of a Czech conclusion that Russian military intelligence operatives are responsible for a 2014 explosion that killed two civilians. Joel Gehrke, Washington Examiner, 22 Apr. 2021 The envelopes the ballots were sent in have already been discarded by one of Philadelphia’s 22 high-speed extractors, which together can denude 12,000 envelopes an hour. Brian Barrett, Wired, 4 Nov. 2020 The pandemic has also denuded many of life’s daily distractions that may have kept many people’s attention off of these issues, Bustelle and Prelli said. Cory Shaffer, cleveland, 26 Apr. 2020 Far from serving as a breakdown of the vigilante mind, the paranoid style would appear to be a leading-edge mode of adaptation to a civically denuded world of siloed and commercially deformed information flows. Chris Lehmann, The New Republic, 16 Apr. 2020 In February, hindered by an unexpected failure to roll out diagnostic tests and an administration that had denuded itself of scientific expertise, the nation sat largely idle while the pandemic spread within its borders. Ed Yong, The Atlantic, 14 Apr. 2020 Curators at the Louvre denuded its walls of masterpieces such as the Mona Lisa and its floors of priceless sculptures. New York Times, 17 Mar. 2020 Lots of candles and denuded Irish trees isn’t a plot. Mark Kennedy, Houston Chronicle, 31 Jan. 2020 See More
Julia Musto, Fox News, 27 June 2021 Kulhanek’s announcement threatens to denude one of Russia’s largest embassies in Europe in the wake of a Czech conclusion that Russian military intelligence operatives are responsible for a 2014 explosion that killed two civilians. Joel Gehrke, Washington Examiner, 22 Apr. 2021 The envelopes the ballots were sent in have already been discarded by one of Philadelphia’s 22 high-speed extractors, which together can denude 12,000 envelopes an hour. Brian Barrett, Wired, 4 Nov. 2020 The pandemic has also denuded many of life’s daily distractions that may have kept many people’s attention off of these issues, Bustelle and Prelli said. Cory Shaffer, cleveland, 26 Apr. 2020 Far from serving as a breakdown of the vigilante mind, the paranoid style would appear to be a leading-edge mode of adaptation to a civically denuded world of siloed and commercially deformed information flows. Chris Lehmann, The New Republic, 16 Apr. 2020 In February, hindered by an unexpected failure to roll out diagnostic tests and an administration that had denuded itself of scientific expertise, the nation sat largely idle while the pandemic spread within its borders. Ed Yong, The Atlantic, 14 Apr. 2020 Curators at the Louvre denuded its walls of masterpieces such as the Mona Lisa and its floors of priceless sculptures. New York Times, 17 Mar. 2020 Lots of candles and denuded Irish trees isn’t a plot. Mark Kennedy, Houston Chronicle, 31 Jan. 2020 See More Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Latin denudare, from de- + nudus bare — more at naked
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
denude
verb
de·nude di-ˈnüd
-ˈnyüd
denuded; denuding
: to make bare
The tree was denuded of bark.
denuding
verb
as in stripping
to remove of all covering or surface layers Excessive logging has denuded the hillside of trees. Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- stripping
- exposing
- scaling
- clearing
- baring
- flaying
- deforesting
- skinning
- shucking
- barking
- husking
- hulling
- defoliating
- shelling
- paring