depopulate
C1Formal; Academic; Journalistic.
Definition
Meaning
To drastically reduce the population of a place.
To cause a significant decrease in the number of inhabitants, often through war, disease, economic collapse, or forced displacement.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Carries a strong connotation of negative, often catastrophic, cause and effect. Typically used for large-scale events affecting regions or countries, not minor population shifts.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant difference in meaning or usage. Spelling is consistent.
Connotations
Identical strong negative connotations.
Frequency
Slightly more common in historical and geopolitical academic contexts in both varieties.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[Agent] depopulated [Place].[Place] was depopulated by [Cause/Agent].The [Cause] depopulated [Place].Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “[Place] became a depopulated ghost town.”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Rare. Possibly in reports on regional economic decline: 'The factory closures threaten to depopulate the industrial north.'
Academic
Common in history, geography, sociology: 'The Black Death depopulated vast swathes of medieval Europe.'
Everyday
Rare. Used for dramatic emphasis: 'That new policy will depopulate our village.'
Technical
Used in demographics and urban planning, often in participle form: 'depopulated zones', 'depopulation trends'.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The Highland Clearances brutally depopulated vast areas of Scotland.
- Successive famines have depopulated the region.
American English
- The Dust Bowl disaster depopulated many counties in Oklahoma.
- Economists warn that the lack of jobs could depopulate our rural towns.
adverb
British English
- N/A (Standard form 'depopulatingly' is extremely rare and unnatural.)
American English
- N/A
adjective
British English
- The depopulated Highlands saw many abandoned crofts.
- They surveyed the depopulated village.
American English
- The city has large, depopulated industrial zones.
- Efforts to revitalize depopulated areas are underway.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- The war depopulated many cities.
- This area is almost depopulated now.
- Historians argue that the plague depopulated the region by over a third.
- The economic crisis threatens to depopulate our manufacturing heartlands.
- Government policies aimed at collectivisation inadvertently depopulated the countryside, driving people into urban centres.
- The anthropologist studied the social structures in the rapidly depopulating Arctic communities.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think: DE (reverse/remove) + POPULATE (to fill with people) = to remove the people.
Conceptual Metaphor
A PLACE IS A CONTAINER FOR PEOPLE (the container is emptied).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid confusing with 'dispopulate' (not a standard word). The direct equivalent is 'обезлюдеть' (intransitive, for the place) or 'обезлюдить' (transitive, for the agent). Do not use 'депопулировать' (a clumsy calque).
Common Mistakes
- Using it for small, voluntary population changes (e.g., 'Students depopulate the campus during summer.' -> INCORRECT). Confusing 'depopulate' (verb) with 'underpopulated' (adjective).
Practice
Quiz
Which sentence uses 'depopulate' correctly?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Primarily yes, for human populations. It can be used metaphorically for animals (e.g., 'a disease depopulated the deer herds'), but this is less common and slightly figurative.
'Evacuate' is a temporary, organised removal of people for safety. 'Depopulate' implies a long-term or permanent reduction, often due to tragic or uncontrolled circumstances.
No, it is a transitive verb. It requires an object (a place that is being depopulated). The place itself can be the subject in a passive construction (e.g., 'The town depopulated' is incorrect; 'The town was depopulated' is correct).
The noun is 'depopulation' (e.g., 'the depopulation of rural areas').
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