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Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary de·plete (de·plet·ed ; de·plet·ing) ETYMOLOGY Latin depletus, past participle of deplēre, from de-+ plēre to fill — more at full DATE 1807 1. to empty of a principal substance 2. to lessen markedly in quantity, content, power, or value Synonyms. deplete , drain , exhaust , impoverish , bankrupt mean to deprive of something essential to existence or potency. deplete implies a reduction in number or quantity so as to endanger the ability to function depleting our natural resources drain implies a gradual withdrawal and ultimate deprivation of what is necessary to an existence personal tragedy had drained him of all spirit exhaust stresses a complete emptying her lecture exhausted the subject impoverish suggests a deprivation of something essential to richness or productiveness impoverished soil bankrupt suggests impoverishment to the point of imminent collapse war had bankrupted the nation of resources English Etymology deplete 1807, back-formation from depletion. Related: Depleted; depleting. Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary-牛津双解-OALD7 deplete de·plete / di5pli:t / verb[VN] [usually passive] to reduce sth by a large amount so that there is not enough left 大量减少；耗尽；使枯竭: Food supplies were severely depleted. 食物供应已严重不足。 • de·ple·tion / di5pli:Fn / noun [U] : ozone depletion 臭氧耗损 the depletion of fish stocks 鱼的存货消耗殆尽 Oxford Collocations Dictionary for Students of English deplete verb ADV. heavily, seriously, severely Both teams were severely depleted by injuries. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus-11th Edition v. Function: verb to bring to a low estate by depriving of something essential FF1C;an epidemic which depletes an army of manpowerFF1E; Synonyms: bankrupt, drain, draw, draw down, exhaust, impoverish, use up Related Words: cripple, debilitate, disable, enfeeble, sap, undermine, weaken; decrease, diminish, lessen, reduce; bleed, draw off, dry up, empty, milk; consume, expend, finish, spend, wash up Idioms: dig into Contrasted Words: augment, enlarge, increase; bolster, fortify, strengthen; rebuild, repair, restore, revive Antonyms: renew, replace Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged de·plete \də̇ˈplēt, dēˈ-, usu -lēd.+V\ transitive verb (-ed/-ing/-s) Etymology: Latin depletus, past participle of deplēre, from de- + plēre to fill — more at full 1. : to empty (as the blood vessels) of a principal substance < a body depleted by excessive blood loss > < tissues depleted of vitamins > 2. : to lessen in number, quantity, significant content, or force or in vital power or value as a result of such lessening : exhaust (as a mine) of its valuable content or (a country) of its strength or resources < army, crumbled in morale and depleted by wholesale desertion — American Guide Series: Tennessee > < the house whose air was lifeless and depleted — Ethel Wilson > < sick and depleted children — Robert Payne > < leaves depleted of starch — Experiment Station Record > Synonyms: deplete , drain , exhaust , impoverish , and bankrupt can mean, in common, to deprive a thing in whole or in part of what is essential to its existence or total functioning or power. deplete can signify merely a lessening in number, quantity, or force, but generally stresses a consequent loss, or potential loss, in effective functioning from such a lessening < cattle herds depleted by the heavy slaughter last year — Time> < under conditions of sustained or repeated injury the body may be so depleted that it no longer can withstand infection and new stresses — W.K.Livingston > < has not the soil been depleted of its riches? — G.R.Stewart > drain implies a gradual depletion and ultimate deprivation in force, or vigor, or in elements that provide it < the summer had drained the last reserve of her strength — Ellen Glasgow > < a burden of arms draining the wealth and the labor of all peoples — D.D.Eisenhower > < excesses drained the last element of decency from him > exhaust stresses the total loss of force or vigor or of elements that provide it < cultivated ground is exhausted after only two or three harvests and a new plot must then be cleared — C.D.Forde > < evidently the old ideas had been exhausted and the time was ripe for new ideologies and a new order — R.W.Murray > < a person exhausted by constant worry > impoverish implies a depletion or a draining of what is essential to richness or productiveness < alleging that mechanization helps to impoverish the soil and thus to reduce the output of crops or animal products — Farmer's Weekly (South Africa) > < ignorance of the Bible, of mythology, and of ancient literature in general impoverishes our understanding of much of the poetry of the past — C.S.Kilby > < an impoverished imagination > bankrupt implies total impoverishment or total loss of effectiveness < astronomical sums of time are so great that they bankrupt the imagination — D.C.Peattie > < bankrupt a creative power by constant hack work > |
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