depauperate

American  

[dih-paw-per-it] / dɪˈpɔ pər ɪt /

adjective

Biology.

1. poorly or imperfectly developed.

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Other Word Forms

• depauperation
  noun

Etymology

Origin of depauperate

1425–75; late Middle English < Late Latin dēpauperātus (past participle of dēpauperāre to make poor), equivalent to dē- de- + pauper ( āre ) to make poor ( pauper- poor ( see pauper) + -ātus -ate ¹ )

Example Sentences

By framing urban areas as degraded, depauperate and deficient, we are undervaluing its inhabitants—wildlife and people alike.

From Scientific American • Apr. 22, 2022

This once highly diverse river has become, like most others in Madagascar, depauperate.

From New York Times • Jun. 22, 2011

It is usually 12–20 cm. high, the cap 5–10 cm. broad, and the stems 6–10 mm. in thickness, though it may exceed this size, and depauperate forms are met with which are much smaller.

From Studies of American Fungi. Mushrooms, Edible, Poisonous, etc. by Atkinson, George Francis

The muralis gopher is a depauperate form clearly belonging to the bottae group.

From Comments on the Taxonomy and Geographic Distribution of Some North American Rodents by Hall, E. Raymond (Eugene Raymond)

But small and depauperate specimens of the two species run so nearly together in form, color, and surface characters, that it becomes a matter of some difficulty for even an expert to distinguish them.

From Studies of American Fungi. Mushrooms, Edible, Poisonous, etc. by Atkinson, George Francis