Is there any verb to use that means "to create a shortage" or "to make scarce". Scarcify? Shorten? They sound weird and I would be surprised if there was not a word for this. Was unable to find anything until now.
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Interesting. I don't think there is a word 'to make extinct' either.– Nigel JMay 4, 2018 at 13:18
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It's nearly always a typo for sanctified, but... It finally came to be accepted by the leading editorial minds that pictures of glorified girls in scantified bathing suits and occasional references to the reigning queens of tennis were insufficient coverage ...– FumbleFingersMay 4, 2018 at 14:17
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1 Answer
Deplete, the meanings of which, according to the OED, include "to reduce the fullness of, to deprive of contents or supplies"
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1M-W gives a usage note highlighting the 'reduction to a parlous degree' implication: << deplete, drain, exhaust, impoverish, bankrupt mean to deprive of something essential to existence or potency. deplete implies a reduction in number or quantity so as to endanger the ability to function. ⟨depleting our natural resources⟩ >> May 4, 2018 at 15:33
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Would anyone know a word then that means deplete, but without the endangering element to it?– JotHaMay 6, 2018 at 21:49