deplete

[ dih-pleet ]

/ dɪˈplit /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR deplete ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), de·plet·ed, de·plet·ing.

to decrease seriously or exhaust the abundance or supply of: The fire had depleted the game in the forest. Extravagant spending soon depleted his funds.

Nearby words

depilate, depilation, depilatory, depill, deplane, deplete, depleted uranium, depletion, depletion allowance, depletion layer, depletion region

Origin of deplete

1800–10; < Latin dēplētus empty (past participle of dēplēre to empty out), equivalent to dē- de- + plē(re) to fill + -tus past participle suffix

SYNONYMS FOR deplete

use up, drain, reduce, consume, lessen.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR deplete ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

de·plet·a·ble, adjectivede·ple·tion, nounde·ple·tive, de·ple·to·ry

[dih-plee-tuh-ree] /dɪˈpli tə ri/, adjectivenon·de·plet·a·ble, adjective

non·de·ple·tion, nounnon·de·ple·tive, adjectivenon·de·ple·to·ry, adjectivepre·de·plete, verb (used with object), pre·de·plet·ed, pre·de·plet·ing.pre·de·ple·tion, nounun·de·plet·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for deplete

And now, the plan is not only to decimate public-sector unions, but all unions—to deplete the money they can spend on politics.
The Next Phase of the Koch Brothers’ War on Unions|Carl Deal and Tia Lessin|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
However, things like stress, illness, and environmental pollution all deplete your levels.
5 Healthier Ways to Detox (That Aren’t Juice Cleanses)|DailyBurn|February 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Thus experience and inexperience will equally tend to deplete the classes available for this form of service.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 16, No. 95, September 1865|Various
Hence a wild-fire exodus which has devastated whole villages and threatens to deplete the labor force of the kingdom.
The Old World in the New|Edward Alsworth Ross

Francis says I have congestion, and I must live low, deplete, and take pills.
James Fenimore Cooper|Mary E. Phillips
When the refugees began pouring in she was among the first to ladle out soup and deplete her wardrobe.
The Living Present|Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton
We then dispersed; the medium walking off as if nothing whatever had occurred to deplete her strength.
Ghosts I Have Seen|Violet Tweedale

British Dictionary definitions for deplete

deplete

/ (dɪˈpliːt) /

verb (tr)

to use up (supplies, money, energy, etc); reduce or exhaust

to empty entirely or partially

med to empty or reduce the fluid contents of (an organ or vessel)

Derived Forms

depletable, adjectivedepletion, noundepletive or depletory, adjective

Word Origin for deplete

C19: from Latin dēplēre to empty out, from de- + plēre to fill

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medicine definitions for deplete

deplete

[ dĭ-plēt′ ]

v.

To use up something, such as a nutrient.

To empty something out, as the body of electrolytes.