The act or process of removing people from a place; depopulation.
From depeople plus -ing (gerund suffix). The gerund form nominates the action itself, turning the verb into a noun that describes the process rather than a single event.
Environmental historians and archaeologists use 'depeopling' to discuss how climate change, disease, or conquest emptied entire regions—it's a scientific term that treats human population movements as a researchable phenomenon.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.