depopulated
Drained of residents
Depopulated describes a place that has lost most or all of its inhabitants.
War, famine, disease, or economic collapse can leave regions depopulated: The plague depopulated entire villages.
The word emphasizes emptiness where people once lived—a depopulated area feels abandoned rather than simply uninhabited.
Deserted former inhabited place
- desertedLeft behind, uninhabited
- forsakenCompletely abandoned or discarded
- emptyHolding nothing inside
- ruinsDecayed structural remains
derelict · vacant · uninhabited · forgotten · neglected · dilapidated · decayed · evacuated
Uninhabitable barren region
- desolateBleak and abandoned
- lifelessDevoid of animation
- bleakDreary and without cheer
- starkSevere and unadorned
inhospitable · sterile · fallow · unproductive · impoverished · stripped · denuded · sparse
Decreasing in dimension
- dwindlingProgressively becoming smaller
- diminishedMade or became smaller
- reducedMade less in amount
- dyingCeasing to live
fading · vanishing · collapsed · decimated · depleted · hollowed out · aging · outmigration
ghost town
Deserted former inhabited place
- desertedLeft behind, uninhabited
- forsakenCompletely abandoned or discarded
- emptyHolding nothing inside
ruins · derelict · vacant · uninhabited · forgotten · neglected · dilapidated · decayed · evacuated · cleared
wasteland
Uninhabitable barren region
stark · inhospitable · sterile · fallow · unproductive · impoverished · stripped · denuded · sparse · windswept
shrinking
Decreasing in dimension
- dwindlingProgressively becoming smaller
- diminishedMade or became smaller
- reducedMade less in amount
dying · fading · vanishing · collapsed · decimated · depleted · hollowed out · aging · outmigration · brain drain
war-torn
Damaged by military conflict
- ravagedSeverely damaged or destroyed
- devastatedOverwhelmed by grief
- bombedFailed spectacularly, utterly
destroyed · conquered · occupied · cleansed · displaced · refugees · genocide · massacre · famine · plague
depopulatedpopulated
Having inhabitants
populous · inhabited · crowded · overcrowded · densely populated
depopulatedrepopulated
Restored inhabitants to
populated · thriving · booming · growing · flourishing
depopulate, depopulation, depopulating, depopulates, depopulations