depopulate

1 of 2

verb

de·​pop·​u·​late (ˌ)dē-ˈpä-pyə-ˌlāt 

depopulated; depopulating; depopulates

transitive verb

1

obsolete : ravage

2

: to reduce greatly the population of

depopulation

(ˌ)dē-ˌpä-pyə-ˈlā-shən 

noun

depopulation

2 of 2

noun

de·​population (¦)dē+ 

: the act of depopulating or the state of being depopulated:

a

archaic : devastation

the Danes … infested those parts with wide depopulation

—John Milton

b

: reduction of population

the causes of depopulation are physical, political, and economic

—G. B. Longstaff

Examples of depopulate in a Sentence

Verb

Large areas of the country had been depopulated by disease.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Much of Lebanon’s south – a largely Shiite-Muslim area with a strong Hezbollah presence – had already been left damaged and depopulated after more than two years of war with Israel. —Zeena Saifi, CNN Money, 24 Apr. 2026

Much of southern Lebanon has been both devastated by military strikes and depopulated. —Hussein Ibish, The Atlantic, 23 Apr. 2026

The region is saturated with mines, fortifications, anti-drone nets, and thoroughly depopulated amid the fiercest fighting in Europe since World War II. —Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 22 Apr. 2026

So all of this adds up to literally depopulating areas in the south and kicking some of the Shias out. —Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 9 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Latin depopulatus, past participle of depopulari, from de- + populari to ravage

Noun

Middle English depopulacioun devastation, from Latin depopulation-, depopulatio, from depopulatus + -ion-, -io -ion

First Known Use

Verb

1548, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for depopulate

• abbreviate
• accelerate
• accommodate
• accumulate
• acuminate
• adjudicate
• adulterate
• affiliate
• agglomerate
• agglutinate
• alleviate
• amalgamate

Kids Definition

depopulate

verb

de·​pop·​u·​late (ˈ)dē-ˈpäp-yə-ˌlāt 

: to reduce greatly the population of (as a city or region) by destroying or driving away the inhabitants

depopulated by plague

depopulation

(ˌ)dē-ˌpäp-yə-ˈlā-shən 

noun