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Glite Dictionary
🏴‍☠️ To plunder 🐗 To damage crops
to depredate

to depredate

9.9
To eat crops and stored food and cause damage, often by animals
  • verb
  • /ˈdɛprɪˌdeɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : depredar
  • Efforts to protect the fields include fencing to keep animals from depredating the young plants.
  • target species that depredate

Examples

  • Farmers often lose money when pests depredate their crops during the harvest season.

  • Trapping decoy traps allow wildlife managers and growers to reduce the numbers of a depredating target species while greatly reducing the risks of taking nontarget species.

    Academic text (2011)

  • This area will be recolonized in no time, hopefully by animals that won't depredate livestock.

    Blog text (17)

  • The team worked to prevent predators from depredating the local livestock.

Synonyms

to predate
vsto depredate
  • Specialized
1 7.2

To hunt and eat another animal

includes damage or plunder of crops and livestock not only hunting animals

Antonyms

to protect
∞ 1.0

To keep someone or something safe from harm

to nurture
155 3.5

To care for and encourage someone or something to grow

How Destructive

to decimate
58 7.5
to depredate
  • Specialized
9.9
to devour
13 2.9
to eat
∞ 1.0
to nibble
56 2.0

Surface Forms

depredate infinitive
depredated past
depredated past participle
depredating present participle
depredates third person singular

Morphology

depredate = de + pred + ate

Although historically analyzable into Latin elements (de- + praed- + -ate), the components are not recognizable or productive English morphemes for learners, so the verb's meaning cannot be reliably derived from its parts.

Etymology

Depredate comes from the Latin praeda 'prey', the same root as predator, so picture animals taking food or goods as their 'prey'. That's why when animals or pests depredate crops or stores, they eat, damage, or destroy them.