depopulated

/ˌdiːˈpɒp.jə.leɪt/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌdiːˈpɑː.pjə.leɪt/ (ame, ipa) · /(ˌ)dē-ˈpä-pyə-ˌlāt/ (ame, mw)

depopulated — verb

  • depopulatedpresent simple I / you / we / they
  • depopulateds3rd person singular
  • depopulateding-ing form
  • depopulatededpast simple

1. To reduce the number of inhabitants in a place, often through war, disease, econ

1.動詞及物B2
釋義

To reduce the number of inhabitants in a place, often through war, disease, economic change, or a natural disaster, so that the population falls dramatically and far fewer people live there.

例句

The war depopulated entire villages along the border, forcing survivors to flee to the capital.

depopulate + noun phrase — active transitive with event as subject

Apinya's home village in northern Thailand became depopulated after the main employer closed its factory.

become depopulated — passive participle used as adjective

同義詞
  • empty

    Less formal and more general; can describe a room or a container, not just a region that has lost people.

  • desolate

    Emphasises the resulting bleak, abandoned feeling rather than the act of population loss itself.

  • clear

    Suggests removal of people for a specific purpose (e.g. clearing a building); does not carry the long-term demographic meaning.

反義詞
  • populate

    To fill a place with inhabitants.

  • settle

    To establish a community in a previously empty or newly accessible area.

文法句型

depopulate + noun phrase (region / village / country)

be / become depopulated (passive or adjective)

用法筆記

Frequently used in the passive voice or as a past-participle adjective describing a place that has lost its inhabitants. The active form typically takes an event (war, famine, disease, economic shift) as the subject.

常見錯誤

❌The old town was unpopulated after the war.
✅The old town was depopulated after the war.
💡'unpopulated' means the place never had inhabitants; 'depopulated' means it lost the inhabitants it once had.