depopulate
/diːˈpɒpjʊleɪt/verb
with obj.
- substantially reduce the population of (an area)大量减少（某地区）的人口：
the disease could depopulate a town the size of Bournemouth.
这种疾病可以使像伯恩茅斯这种规模的市镇人口锐减。
派生词
depopulation
noun词源
mid 16th cent. （in the sense 'ravage， lay waste'）： from Latin depopulat- 'ravaged'， from the verb depopulari, from de- 'completely' + populari 'lay waste' （from populus 'people'）.