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depletion

depletion

40 5.3
A decrease in how much of something is left, often until it is used up
  • noun
  • /dɪˈpliːʃən/
translation icon : agotamiento
  • Finally, both cotton and cassava caused considerable depletion of soil nutrients.
  • ozone depletion
  • stratospheric ozone depletion
  • resource depletion

A great many people have tissue depletion, cellular depletion of zinc.

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Examples

  • Even so, algal blooms and oxygen depletion in the bay have a major economic impact on the region.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Farmers are facing challenges due to the depletion of nutrients in the soil, affecting crop yields.

  • Perhaps it's the push of climate change, air pollution, resource depletion, and national security.

    Academic text (2011)
  • One factor that many people point to is depletion of the soils.

  • So this is a picture of where there is some groundwater depletion worldwide.

  • Our focus will be on the depletion of the ozone layer, global warming, and climate change.

    Academic text (1992)
  • A famine represents both the failure of the current harvest and the depletion of food stores.

    Academic text (1991)
  • Increased plant growth results in a depletion of oxygen in the water, which can stress or kill aquatic organisms.

    Academic text (2011)
  • The Syrian economy is entering a crisis stage made worse by the depletion of the country's oil reserves.

    Academic text (2008)
  • Is there evidence for stratospheric ozone depletion outside of the Antarctic region?

    Academic text (1992)

Synonyms

decline
vsdepletion
439 3.9

A gradual loss in amount, quality, or value

is about reduction that leads to low availability or being used up
loss
vsdepletion
247 1.3

A gradual reduction in amount or size

focuses on reduction that leads toward very low levels
decrease
vsdepletion
84 2.2

A drop in amount or number

is reduction that results in being low or used up
abatement
vsdepletion
11 6.8

A reduction in something harmful or unwanted

is general reduction, not limited to lowering negative things
exhaustion
vsdepletion
6 3.3

Using something until nothing is left

is reduction that may leave low levels rather than total use
shrinkage
vsdepletion
5 5.1

A decrease in size, amount, or value

focuses on reduction that reaches a low or used up state
diminishment
vsdepletion
4 6.7

A decrease in size, strength or importance

is reduction that emphasizes reaching a low or used up state
drawdown
vsdepletion
  • Specialized
2 6.9

A fall in the value or amount of an investment

is a general reduction concept tied to low or used up quantities
dwindling
vsdepletion
1 5.2

A slow decrease in size, number, or strength

describes reduction that ends with low supply or exhaustion
tapering off
vsdepletion
1 5.5

Becoming smaller or less over time until almost gone

can be any reduction, not only a slow approach to nothing
deflation
vsdepletion
  • Jargon
7.2

A fall in the total supply of a digital token when coins are burned

is a broad reduction idea not limited to token burning or scarcity

Antonyms

524 1.0

The extra amount added to something to make it larger

192 3.1

An amount that is more than what is needed

13 6.1

An increase in size, amount, or level

Compounds

salt depletion
  • Specialized
6.6

The body loses too much salt, causing muscle cramps and confusion

How Depleted

exhaustion
6 3.3
depletion
40 5.3
loss
247 1.3
reduction
451 3.2

Surface Forms

depletion singular
depletions plural

Morphology

depletion = deplete (transparent) = deplete + ion

Formed regularly from the verb 'deplete' with the nominalizing suffix '-ion', giving the expected meaning 'the act or result of depleting'.

Etymology

The word depletion comes from the Latin parts de- 'away' and -plete from a root meaning 'fill', the same root you see in complete and deplete. So depletion describes when something that was full is made smaller or 'used up'.