depopulates
Drives inhabitants away
Depopulates means to drastically reduce or empty the population of a place.
War, famine, disease, or forced migration depopulates regions: The plague depopulated entire villages.
Economic collapse can depopulate cities as residents leave for opportunity elsewhere.
The word emphasizes scale—not just some people leaving, but a dramatic emptying.
Uninhabitable barren region
- ruinsDecayed structural remains
- abandonedLeft behind completely
- desertedLeft behind, uninhabited
- barrenUnable to produce
empty · uninhabited · lifeless · blighted · hollowed-out · forsaken · neglected · dilapidated
Removal from danger
- migrationMovement to new territory
- emigrationLeaving homeland permanently
- diasporaScattered population sharing origins
- relocationPermanent change of residence
displacement · fleeing · refugees · expulsion · resettlement · outflow · dispersal · scattering
Decrease gradually over time
- shrinkDecrease in size
- diminishTo make smaller
- decreaseBecome or make smaller
- reduceMake smaller in degree
deplete · thin · empty · drain · contract · plummet · drop · wane
Armed struggle between groups
- famineSevere food shortage
- plagueDeadly epidemic disease
- droughtProlonged water scarcity
- disasterSudden ruinous event
epidemic · genocide · persecution · industrialization · urbanization · conflict · violence · poverty
wasteland
Uninhabitable barren region
barren · empty · uninhabited · lifeless · blighted · hollowed-out · forsaken · neglected · dilapidated · decayed
evacuation
Removal from danger
- migrationMovement to new territory
- emigrationLeaving homeland permanently
- diasporaScattered population sharing origins
relocation · displacement · fleeing · refugees · expulsion · resettlement · outflow · dispersal · scattering · transmigration
dwindle
Decrease gradually over time
reduce · deplete · thin · empty · drain · contract · plummet · drop · wane · atrophy
war
Armed struggle between groups
disaster · epidemic · genocide · persecution · industrialization · urbanization · conflict · violence · poverty · pollution
depopulatespopulates
Fills with residents
repopulates · peoples · settles · colonizes · overpopulates
depopulate, depopulation, depopulated, depopulating, depopulations