depopulate
verb /ˌdiːˈpɒpjuleɪt/
/ˌdiːˈpɑːpjuleɪt/
[usually passive]Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they depopulate | /ˌdiːˈpɒpjuleɪt/ /ˌdiːˈpɑːpjuleɪt/ |
| he / she / it depopulates | /ˌdiːˈpɒpjuleɪts/ /ˌdiːˈpɑːpjuleɪts/ |
| past simple depopulated | /ˌdiːˈpɒpjuleɪtɪd/ /ˌdiːˈpɑːpjuleɪtɪd/ |
| past participle depopulated | /ˌdiːˈpɒpjuleɪtɪd/ /ˌdiːˈpɑːpjuleɪtɪd/ |
| -ing form depopulating | /ˌdiːˈpɒpjuleɪtɪŋ/ /ˌdiːˈpɑːpjuleɪtɪŋ/ |
- to reduce the number of people living in a place
- be depopulated Whole stretches of land were laid waste and depopulated.
Word Originmid 16th cent. (in the sense ‘ravage, lay waste’): from Latin depopulat- ‘ravaged’, from the verb depopulari, from de- ‘completely’ + populari ‘lay waste’ (from populus ‘people’).