Depopulate

Depopulate
Depopulate De*pop"u*late, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Depopulated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Depopulating}.] [L. depopulatus, p. p. of depopulari to ravage; de- + populari to ravage, fr. populus people: cf. OF. depopuler, F. d['e]peupler. See {People}.] To deprive of inhabitants, whether by death or by expulsion; to reduce greatly the populousness of; to dispeople; to unpeople. [1913 Webster]

Where is this viper, That would depopulate the city? --Shak. [1913 Webster]

Note: It is not synonymous with laying waste or destroying, being limited to the loss of inhabitants; as, an army or a famine may depopulate a country. It rarely expresses an entire loss of inhabitants, but often a great diminution of their numbers; as, the deluge depopulated the earth. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Depopulate — De*pop u*late, v. i. To become dispeopled. [R.] [1913 Webster] Whether the country be depopulating or not. Goldsmith. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • depopulate — index devastate, diminish, pillage Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • depopulate — 1540s; see DE (Cf. de ) + POPULATE (Cf. populate). Perhaps from L. depopulatus, pp. of depopulari to lay waste, ravage. Related: Depopulated; depopulating. Earlier in same sense was dispeplen (early 15c.) …   Etymology dictionary

  • depopulate — ► VERB ▪ substantially reduce the population of. DERIVATIVES depopulation noun …   English terms dictionary

  • depopulate — [dē päp′yə lāt΄] vt. depopulated, depopulating [< L depopulatus, pp. of depopulari, to lay waste < de , from + populari, to ravage, ruin < populus, PEOPLE] to reduce the population of, esp. by violence, disease, etc. depopulation n.… …   English World dictionary

  • depopulate — [[t]di͟ːpɒ̱pjʊleɪt[/t]] depopulates, depopulating, depopulated VERB To depopulate an area means to greatly reduce the number of people living there. [V n] The famine endured for generations, threatening at times to depopulate the continent.… …   English dictionary

  • depopulate — UK [diːˈpɒpjʊleɪt] / US [dɪˈpɑpjəˌleɪt] verb [transitive] Word forms depopulate : present tense I/you/we/they depopulate he/she/it depopulates present participle depopulating past tense depopulated past participle depopulated to cause an area to… …   English dictionary

  • depopulate — de|pop|u|late [ˌdi:ˈpɔpjuleıt US ˈpa:p ] v [T usually passive] to greatly reduce the number of people living in a particular area ▪ The disease could depopulate this whole region. >depopulation [di:ˌpɔpjuˈleıʃən US ˌpa:p ] n [U] …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • depopulate — /diˈpɒpjuleɪt/ (say dee popyoohlayt) verb (t) (depopulated, depopulating) to deprive of inhabitants, wholly or in part, as by destruction or expulsion. {Latin dēpopulātus, past participle, having laid waste} –depopulation /dipɒpjəˈleɪʃən/ (say… …  

  • depopulate — transitive verb Etymology: Latin depopulatus, past participle of depopulari, from de + populari to ravage Date: 1548 1. obsolete ravage 2. to reduce greatly the population of • depopulation noun …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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