depopulate v : reduce in population; "The epidemic depopulated the countryside" [syn: desolate]

Depopulate \De*pop"u*late\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Depopulated; p. pr. & vb. n. Depopulating.] [L. depopulatus, p. p. of depopulari to ravage; de- + populari to ravage, fr. populus people: cf. OF. depopuler, F. d['e]peupler. See People.] 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.

Depopulate \De*pop"u*late\, v. i. To become dispeopled. [R.] Whether the country be depopulating or not. --Goldsmith.

See more meaning on Depopulate...

• List of Arab towns and villages depopulated during the 1948 Palestinian exodus: This list of Arab towns and villages that were depopulated during the 1948 Palestinian exodus gathers about 500 items. depopulated and ...
• List of villages depopulated during the Arab–Israeli conflict: Below is a list of villages depopulated or destroyed during the Arab-Israeli conflict . villages have been depopulated, the vast majority of ...
• Kurdish villages depopulated by Turkey: The number of Kurdish villages depopulated by Turkey is estimated at around 3,000. Since 1984, the Turkish military has embarked on a ...
• Malina (depopulated settlement): Malina (Serbian Cyrillic: Малина) was depopulated settlement between Bileća and Trebinje in Herzegovina (Republika Srpska, Bosnia and ...

• Govt to kill FMD infected goats and sheep
  FRANCISTOWN: Government has taken a deliberate decision to depopulate all infected and in-contact small stock in affected kraals in the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) containment area of Zone 6. Read more on this news related to 'Depopulate'