depleting

Meaning

1. 1verbtransitive

   Gradually reducing the amount or supply of something until little is left.

   Grammar: Takes an object: activities that deplete resources. The -ing form often appears in continuous tenses or as an adjective.

   Patterns

   • deplete something
   • deplete resources
   • depleting the supply

   Overfishing is depleting fish stocks faster than they can recover.

   The long drought had been depleting the region's water reserves for months.

   Burning fossil fuels is depleting the ozone layer.

Word forms

Common combinations

deplete resources

The war has depleted the country's resources.

deplete the ozone layer

Certain chemicals are known to deplete the ozone layer.

severely depleted

Fish populations are severely depleted in this area.

depleting reserves

The company is worried about its depleting reserves of cash.

Synonyms and how they differ

exhaust

Exhaust suggests using something up completely, often with a sense of finality, while deplete focuses on a gradual reduction that may not be total.

drain

Drain often implies a steady, often unwanted loss, like water draining away; deplete is more neutral and technical.

reduce

Reduce is a general word for making something smaller; deplete is stronger and specifically about diminishing a supply or resource.

Opposites

Word family

depletion noun

The process or result of reducing something, especially a natural resource.

depleted adjective

Having had a large amount of something used up; e.g., depleted uranium.

Commonly confused: depleting or deplete?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “depleting”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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