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