deplete

[dih-pleet]

verb (used with object)

depleted, depleting 

1. 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.

   Synonyms: lessen, consume, reduce, drain

deplete

/ dɪˈpliːt /

verb

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

2. to empty entirely or partially

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

Other Word Forms

• depletable adjective
• depletion noun
• depletive adjective
• depletory adjective
• nondepletable adjective
• nondepletion noun
• nondepletive adjective
• nondepletory adjective
• predeplete verb (used with object)
• predepletion noun
• undepleted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of deplete¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of deplete¹

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

Example Sentences

The results also revealed that amyloid beta contributes to cancer in another way - by depleting fumarate, a small molecule made inside mitochondria during energy production.

Read more on Science Daily

Some retirees pay their adviser to reassure them that they can spend a certain amount without depleting their savings, even if crises or jarring surprises arise.

Read more on MarketWatch

Similarly, in the Pacific, interdiction by submarines and aerial mining of trade routes effectively depleted Japan’s fuel reserves by the war’s end.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Elordi was still very thin when he made it to the Frankenstein set in Toronto, and utterly depleted.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Having nearly depleted their island’s resources, and lacking a large enough canoe to leave, they face eventual extinction.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• bankrupt 
• decrease 
• diminish 
• drain 
• empty 
• expend 
• impoverish 
• lessen 
• reduce 
• sap 
• squander 
• undermine 
• use up 
• weaken