1
Core quality
Used up, exhausted, or greatly reduced in amount or strength.
Example
Years of drought depleted the reservoir.
depleted
/dɪˈpliːtɪd/ · dih-PLEE-tidadjective
Used up, exhausted, or greatly reduced in amount or strength.
Use depleted to express this relationship precisely: used up, exhausted, or greatly reduced in amount or strength.
What depleted Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Attributive or predicative use
Use this adjective before a suitable noun or after a linking verb such as be or seem.
Example
The crop struggled in nutrient-depleted soil.
3
Analytical distinction
Choose it when this exact descriptive quality matters; a related word may overlap without conveying the same trait.
Example
Emergency spending left the fund severely depleted.
Use depleted Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
Years of drought depleted the reservoir.
The crop struggled in nutrient-depleted soil.
Emergency spending left the fund severely depleted.
Precision Matters
Depleted overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
depleted
vs.Means used up, exhausted, or greatly reduced in amount or strength.
dearth
Means a scarcity, shortage, or lack of something needed or expected.
depleted
vs.Means used up, exhausted, or greatly reduced in amount or strength.
paucity
Means a scarcity or insufficient amount of something.
depleted
vs.Means used up, exhausted, or greatly reduced in amount or strength.
copious
Means abundant or plentiful in quantity.
depleted
vs.Means used up, exhausted, or greatly reduced in amount or strength.
substantial
Means large or important in size, amount, extent, or significance.
Test depleted in Context
The supply had been used up or greatly reduced.
1
After three failed harvests, the village's grain reserves were dangerously ___.