Depeople

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To remove inhabitants from a place or cause its population to decrease significantly
2. To empty a location of its people or substantially diminish the number living there
3. To deprive an area of its residents or greatly reduce how many people occupy it

Etymology: "Depeople" is a straightforward formation: the prefix "de-" joined to "people." The prefix comes from Latin "de-," which in English word-building typically signals removal or reversal, so the verb means to remove people from a place, reducing or emptying its population. The base "people" traces back through Old French "pueple" to Latin "populus," meaning the body of citizens or the common folk.

Synonyms: depopulate, evacuate

Antonyms: populate, settle