De·pop·u·late v. t. [imp. & p. p. Depopulated p. pr. & vb. n. Depopulating ] To deprive of inhabitants, whether by death or by expulsion; to reduce greatly the populousness of; to dispeople; to unpeople.
Where is this viper,
That would depopulate the city? --Shak.
Note: ☞ It is not synonymous with laying waste or destroying, being limited to the loss of inhabitants; as, an army or a famine may depopulate a country. It rarely expresses an entire loss of inhabitants, but often a great diminution of their numbers; as, the deluge depopulated the earth.