Depopulate - Meaning, Definition & English Examples
Depopulate means to reduce the number of people living in a place, often due to migration, disease, or deliberate policies. It can describe both natural declines and intentional actions.
Definition:
To reduce the population of an area, often by force or due to disaster.
Synonyms:
unpeople, evacuate, desolate
Part of Speech:
verb
Antonyms:
populate, repopulate
Common Collocations:
depopulate a region, depopulate villages, depopulate rapidly
Derivatives:
depopulation, depopulated
Usage Tips:
Use "depopulate" when describing significant population decline, often due to war, disease, or migration.
Common Phrases:
depopulate the land, depopulated by war, mass depopulation event
Etymology:
From Latin *depopulatus*, past participle of *depopulari* ("to lay waste").
Examples:
- 1. The war threatened to depopulate entire towns as people fled for safety.
- 2. Disease outbreaks can quickly depopulate vulnerable communities without proper healthcare access.
- 3. Government policies sometimes unintentionally depopulate rural areas by encouraging urban migration.
- 4. Historians note how plagues once depopulated vast regions of medieval Europe.
- 5. Efforts to conserve wildlife may require temporarily depopulating certain human settlements nearby.