depletable

de·plete

D0142700 (dĭ-plēt′)tr.v. de·plet·ed, de·plet·ing, de·pletes 1. To consume or reduce to a very low amount; use up: drought that depleted the stores of grain.2. To remove the contents or important elements of; empty out or exhaust: overfishing that depleted the lake of trout; farming practices that depleted the soil of nutrients.

[Latin dēplēre, dēplēt-, to empty : dē-, de- + plēre, to fill; see pelə- in Indo-European roots.]

de·plet′a·ble adj.Synonyms: deplete, drain, exhaust, sap¹
These verbs mean to use up something important that is hard to replace. Deplete refers to gradually consuming something essential: Medical bills quickly depleted our savings. To drain is to draw down a resource or supply to a critical level: War often drains a nation's economy. Exhaust stresses depletion to a point of emptiness or uselessness: "The Depression had exhausted the capacity of private charities and state and local governments to cope with the needs of millions of unemployed Americans" (Patrick Maney).
Sap suggests a slow loss of something vital: "The [ivory] trade certainly sapped labor from farming and disrupted village life" (Eric Scigliano).

Thesaurus

Adj.

depletable - capable of being depletedexhaustible - capable of being used up

depletable

de·plete

depletable

Words related to depletable

adj capable of being depleted

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