depopulate
verb (used with object)
to remove or reduce the population of, as by destruction or expulsion.
have depopulated
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present perfectof depopulate.present perfect
Used to describe actions that started in the past and continue into or have direct relevance to the present.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A levy of no more than two hundred thousand men, which was the utmost the number amounted to, could hardly have depopulated a country like France to the extent mentioned by St. Bernard.
From Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions — Volume 2 by Charles Mackay
One of the eyes of this caliph was so terrible in anger that those died who ventured to look thereon, and had he given way to his wrath, he would have depopulated his whole dominion.—W.
From Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol. 1 A Revised American Edition of the Reader's Handbook by Ebenezer Cobham Brewer
Notwithstanding their number, had Selkirk wished it, he might have depopulated the island.
From The Solitary of Juan Fernandez, or the Real Robinson Crusoe by Joseph Xavier Saintine
There was one young girl, called Julie, who was cruel enough to have depopulated a whole nation of lovers.
From The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 17, No. 480, March 12, 1831 by Various
Thus, as Swift puts it, "the politic gentlemen of Ireland have depopulated vast tracts of the best land, for the feeding of sheep."
From The Prose Works of Jonathan Swift, D.D. - Volume 07 Historical and Political Tracts-Irish by Temple Scott
