depopulate
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 
Example Sentences
Large areas of the country had been depopulated by disease.
Recent Examples on the Web The policies instituted at the start of the pandemic, meanwhile, were public-health measures meant to quickly depopulate jails, which were home to numerous outbreaks of the then-new coronavirus. 
Zusha Elinson, WSJ, 13 Aug. 2022 State agriculture officials have allowed more than a dozen CWD-positive deer farms to remain open, but on May 18 did depopulate Van Ooyen Whitetails in Antigo. Paul A. Smith, Journal Sentinel, 23 July 2022 The problem is there just aren’t enough urban areas in Iowa to offset the losses elsewhere, even as the cities grow while rural areas depopulate. Ben Jacobs, The New Republic, 28 June 2022 Increasingly, the Russians appear to be using their massive firepower advantage - especially in Mariupol - to depopulate Ukraine’s urban centers and then take them over. Greg Jaffe And Meg Kelly, Anchorage Daily News, 16 Mar. 2022 Increasingly, the Russians appear to be using their massive firepower advantage — especially in Mariupol — to depopulate Ukraine’s urban centers and then take them over. Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2022 Social media users are claiming that billionaire tech titan Bill Gates is part of a conspiracy to depopulate the Earth. Sudiksha Kochi, USA TODAY, 22 Jan. 2022 Chief executive Dave Bateman claims coronavirus vaccines are part of a plot to depopulate the Earth. Bryan Schott, The Salt Lake Tribune, 4 Jan. 2022 No decision has been made on whether to depopulate Maple Hill Farms, according to DATCP. Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 18 Dec. 2021 See More
Zusha Elinson, WSJ, 13 Aug. 2022 State agriculture officials have allowed more than a dozen CWD-positive deer farms to remain open, but on May 18 did depopulate Van Ooyen Whitetails in Antigo. Paul A. Smith, Journal Sentinel, 23 July 2022 The problem is there just aren’t enough urban areas in Iowa to offset the losses elsewhere, even as the cities grow while rural areas depopulate. Ben Jacobs, The New Republic, 28 June 2022 Increasingly, the Russians appear to be using their massive firepower advantage - especially in Mariupol - to depopulate Ukraine’s urban centers and then take them over. Greg Jaffe And Meg Kelly, Anchorage Daily News, 16 Mar. 2022 Increasingly, the Russians appear to be using their massive firepower advantage — especially in Mariupol — to depopulate Ukraine’s urban centers and then take them over. Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2022 Social media users are claiming that billionaire tech titan Bill Gates is part of a conspiracy to depopulate the Earth. Sudiksha Kochi, USA TODAY, 22 Jan. 2022 Chief executive Dave Bateman claims coronavirus vaccines are part of a plot to depopulate the Earth. Bryan Schott, The Salt Lake Tribune, 4 Jan. 2022 No decision has been made on whether to depopulate Maple Hill Farms, according to DATCP. Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 18 Dec. 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
Latin depopulatus, past participle of depopulari, from de- + populari to ravage
First Known Use
1548, in the meaning defined at sense 1
depopulate
verb
as in to unpeople
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- unpeople
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- people
- settle
- colonize
- populate
- inhabit
- move (to)
- relocate (to)