Deplete Meaning
/dɪˈpliːt/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
verbTo reduce the amount of; to remove (a substance from something)
verbTo reduce the amount of; to remove (a substance from something):, To expend or separate a reactant.
Sentence Examples
Overfishing will deplete ocean resources.
The long journey depleted our energy.
Overfishing will deplete the fish population in the lake.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Overfishing will quickly ____ the ocean's supply of cod.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Overfishing can severely ____ fish stocks, making it harder for future generations to find food.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from Latin dēplētus (“empty”), from depleō. First attested in 1716; originally a medical term.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Their numbers have been very heavily depleted in the last few years, and soon a most familiar part of the southern railway scene will have vanished: […]."
— 1954 May, John W. Grant, “A Railway Requiem”, in Railway Magazine, page 352:
"... depleting the minerals and fuels of the more developed states, leading to a scarcity of these crucial resources."
— 1975, William Roscoe Kintner, Harvey Sicherman, Technology and International Politics: The Crisis of Wishing:
"[page 1-54:] Here [in Gabon ...], concentrations of slightly enriched uranium were deposited as sediments in a stream bed and formed seven separate water moderated reactors which operated for thousands of years, depleting the uranium and producing fission products, plutonium and other actinides."
— 1982, Are Current Emergency Planning Requirements Justified?: Workshop Proceedings:
"Its reserves have been invaded and depleted."
— 2007, John Zerzan, Silence:
"Constant vigilance for social threats and the negative emotions it produces (e.g., anxiety) deplete self-regulatory resources."
— 2022 October 25, L. J. Shrum, Elena Fumagalli, Tina M. Lowrey, “Coping with loneliness through consumption”, in Journal of Consumer Psychology, volume 33, number 2, →DOI, pages 441–465:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Overfishing will quickly ____ the ocean's supply of cod.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Overfishing can severely ____ fish stocks, making it harder for future generations to find food.