depopulate
verb · adjective
Simple meaning
To reduce the population of a region by disease, war, forced relocation etc.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
deepahpyuhlaytSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
diˈpɑpjəleɪt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitive
To reduce the population of a region by disease, war, forced relocation etc.
intransitive
To become depopulated, to lose its population.
adjective
as a participial adjective
Barren, devoid of inhabitants; utterly destroyed, devastated.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Typical Use
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To reduce the population of a region by disease, war, forced relocation etc.
Used this way, depopulate is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It turns up most in medicine or healthcare contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Medicine/healthcare
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use depopulate
- “The epidemic depopulated the countryside.”verb
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: barren or devoid of inhabitants
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “depopulate” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.