depauperate

adjective

de·pau·per·ate di-ˈpȯ-pə-rət

: falling short of natural development or size

: impoverished

a depauperate fauna

Examples of depauperate in a Sentence

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Anything in the Asclepias genus will feed the monarch’s caterpillars, which badly need the food in the large, milkweed-depauperate migration states of the Midwest. —

Molly Marquand, Good Housekeeping, 5 May 2017

Word History

Etymology

Middle English depauperat, from Medieval Latin depauperatus, past participle of depauperare to impoverish, from Latin de- + pauperare to impoverish, from pauper poor — more at poor

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of depauperate was in the 15th century

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