depopulate
Drive inhabitants away
To depopulate is to drastically reduce or eliminate the population of a place.
War, famine, and disease have depopulated regions throughout history.
The word can describe deliberate policy or natural catastrophe: The plague depopulated entire villages.
Depopulate sometimes appears in discussions of rural decline, where young people leave for cities and towns slowly empty.
Unable to produce
- desertedLeft behind, uninhabited
- emptyHolding nothing inside
- uninhabitedHaving no occupants
- forsakenCompletely abandoned or discarded
ghostly · abandoned · wasteland · ruins · ghost town · bleakness · lifeless · unpeopled
Deadly epidemic disease
- famineSevere food shortage
- warArmed struggle between groups
- genocideSystematic annihilation of a people
- epidemicWidespread disease occurrence
pandemic · disaster · conquest · colonization · holocaust · mortality · devastation · extinction
Leave due to danger
- uprootRemove from the ground
- relocateEstablish residence elsewhere
- expelRemove forcibly from membership
- clearWithout obstruction or fog
remove · oust · dislodge · resettle · dispossess · ethnic cleansing · clearances · enclosure
Movement to new territory
- emigrationLeaving homeland permanently
- diasporaScattered population sharing origins
- flightAerial journey by aircraft
- displacementRemoval from usual location
evacuation · outflow · refugees · exile · dispersal · resettlement · expatriation · brain drain
Decrease gradually over time
- shrinkageDecrease in size
- diminishTo make smaller
- decreaseBecome or make smaller
- atrophyWasting from disuse
wane · subside · lessen · drop · plummet · fall · slump · ebb
Rural area beyond towns
- farmlandAgricultural terrain
- villageSmall rural community
- hamletTiny rural settlement
- agriculturalOf farming practices
pastoral · peasantry · homestead · smallholding · enclosure · mechanization · urbanization · outmigration
barren
Unable to produce
- desertedLeft behind, uninhabited
- emptyHolding nothing inside
- uninhabitedHaving no occupants
forsaken · ghostly · abandoned · wasteland · ruins · ghost town · bleakness · lifeless · unpeopled · void
plague
Deadly epidemic disease
- famineSevere food shortage
- warArmed struggle between groups
- genocideSystematic annihilation of a people
epidemic · pandemic · disaster · conquest · colonization · holocaust · mortality · devastation · extinction · die-off
evacuate
Leave due to danger
- uprootRemove from the ground
- relocateEstablish residence elsewhere
- expelRemove forcibly from membership
clear · remove · oust · dislodge · resettle · dispossess · ethnic cleansing · clearances · enclosure · internment
migration
Movement to new territory
- emigrationLeaving homeland permanently
- diasporaScattered population sharing origins
- flightAerial journey by aircraft
displacement · evacuation · outflow · refugees · exile · dispersal · resettlement · expatriation · brain drain · rural flight
dwindle
Decrease gradually over time
atrophy · wane · subside · lessen · drop · plummet · fall · slump · ebb · taper
countryside
Rural area beyond towns
agricultural · pastoral · peasantry · homestead · smallholding · enclosure · mechanization · urbanization · outmigration