denudation

C2 Topic:Nature & Landscape

US /ˌdiː.nuːˈdeɪ.ʃən/ UK /ˌdiː.njuːˈdeɪ.ʃən/ See IPA manual

Freq #415708

Meanings

1

noun
geology: the wearing away of rock and soil by erosion and weathering, leaving a surface exposed

Repeated glaciation and river erosion caused extensive denudation of the mountain range.
2

noun
formal: the act of stripping away a covering or making something bare

The storm caused the denudation of vegetation along the exposed coast.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · geology: the wearing away... erosionwearing awaydegradation

2 noun · formal: the act of... stripping baring uncovering

Opposites

deposition accumulation covering clothing

Word family

Derived forms circumdenudation

Related forms denudedenudationaldenudativeweathering

Etymology

Borrowed through French dénudation from Latin denudatio 'a laying bare,' from denudare 'to strip naked.' Denudare combines de- in an intensive sense with nudus 'naked.' Geologists adopted the term for processes that strip material from the land surface.

Topics

Nature & Landscape

External links

# denudation

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˌdiː.nuːˈdeɪ.ʃən/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌdiː.njuːˈdeɪ.ʃən/
**Frequency rank:** 415708

## Meanings
1. geology: the wearing away of rock and soil by erosion and weathering, leaving a surface exposed
2. formal: the act of stripping away a covering or making something bare

## Examples
- Repeated glaciation and river erosion caused extensive denudation of the mountain range.
- The storm caused the denudation of vegetation along the exposed coast.

## Synonyms
- erosion
- stripping
- baring
- uncovering
- degradation

## Antonyms
- deposition
- accumulation
- covering
- clothing

## Derived Forms
- circumdenudation

## Related Forms
- denude
- denudational
- denudative
- weathering

## Etymology
Borrowed through French dénudation from Latin denudatio 'a laying bare,' from denudare 'to strip naked.' Denudare combines de- in an intensive sense with nudus 'naked.' Geologists adopted the term for processes that strip material from the land surface.

## Topics
- Nature & Landscape

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