denuded

[ dih-noo-did, -nyoo- ]

adjective

1. made naked or bare:

   "We'll have to go a long way for our wood," I grumbled, gazing across the denuded hillsides.

2. Geology. (of rock) exposed or laid bare by erosive processes:

   The denuded mountains of the Levant were left to face flash floods with nothing but eroding slopes.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of denude.

Other Words From

• half-de·nud·ed adjective
• un·de·nud·ed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of denuded¹

First recorded in 1710–20; denude ( def ) + -ed ²( def ) for the adjective senses; denude ( def ) + -ed ¹( def ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

With Southern California’s rainy season fast approaching, their most immediate concern was shoring up their soil-scorched slope to keep the denuded hillside from sliding into their yard.

From Los Angeles Times

After that, the next rain then sweeps denuded earth and debris into streams, physically displacing the frogs and other inhabitants and making it harder for them to forage.

From Los Angeles Times

Biologists are concerned that if the fire burns intensely in the watershed, denuded earth and ash could fill the creeks when rains come, seriously harming water quality and potentially killing fish.

From Los Angeles Times

Since the reservoirs were drained in January, the river has returned to its channel, flowing through denuded lands that have been underwater for generations.

From Los Angeles Times

The contrast between forested mountainsides still covered in a healthy amount of snow and the burned, denuded ones drying much more quickly paints a grim picture of the San Gabriels’ future under climate change.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bare
• defined
• disclosed
• discovered
• naked
• resolved
• solved
• uncovered
• unprotected