Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb populate

2 senses of populate

Sense 1
populate, dwell, live, inhabit -- (inhabit or live in; be an inhabitant of; "People lived in Africa millions of years ago"; "The people inhabited the islands that are now deserted"; "this kind of fish dwells near the bottom of the ocean"; "deer are populating the woods")
       => be -- (occupy a certain position or area; be somewhere; "Where is my umbrella?" "The toolshed is in the back"; "What is behind this behavior?")

Sense 2
populate -- (fill with inhabitants; "populate the forest with deer and wild boar for hunting")
       => fill, fill up, make full -- (make full, also in a metaphorical sense; "fill a container"; "fill the child with pride")