depopulate
/diˈpɑpjəleɪt/verb
depopulate is spelled D-E-P-O-P-U-L-A-T-E: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 19 million words in written English, the 131,834th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, depopulate means “To reduce the population of a region by disease, war, forced relocation etc” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in depopulate?
| Letters | 10: D-E-P-O-P-U-L-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 19 million words; the 131,834th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is depopulate?
Depopulate appears about once in every 19 million words in written English, the 131,834th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce depopulate?
- UK /diːˈpɒpjəleɪt/
- US /diˈpɑpjəleɪt/
Depopulate has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-depopulate.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with depopulate?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as depopulate from its last stressed vowel (/ɑpjəleɪt/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of depopulate
- depopulates present, singular, he/she/it
- depopulating participle, present
- depopulated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does depopulate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To reduce the population of a region by disease, war, forced relocation etc.
- 2
To remove the components from a circuit board.
- 3
To become depopulated, to lose its population.
adjective
- 1
obsoleteDepopulated (sense 1).
- 2
obsoleteBarren, devoid of inhabitants; utterly destroyed, devastated.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Depopulate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to reduce the population of a region by disease, war, forced relocation etc:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | dépeupler |
| German | entvölkern |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does depopulate come from?
First attested in 1531; borrowed from Latin dēpopulātus, perfect active participle of dēpopulor (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)). Compare depeople, French dépeupler, Italian spopolare, Spanish despoblar, Portuguese despovoar and Romanian despopora; by surface analysis, de- + populate. Participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).