WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : De*pop"u*late
Part of Speech : v.
Etymology : [L. depopulatus, p. p. of depopulari to ravage; de- + populari to ravage, fr. populus people: cf. OF. depopuler, F. d?peupler. See People.]
Definition : Defn: To deprive of inhabitants, whether by death or by expulsion; to reduce greatly the populousness of; to dispeople; to unpeople. Where is this viper, That would depopulate the city Shak.

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.

t. [imp. & p. p. Depopulated; p. pr. & vb. n. Depopulating.]
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : De*pop"u*late
Part of Speech : v.
Definition : Defn: To become dispeopled. [R.] Whether the country be depopulating or not. Goldsmith.

i.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913