consumption means being used, depletion means something is being reduced in quantity. 1. if you have a weeks supply of groceries at home, every time you eat something you are consuming a little of your supplies. at the same time, your week's supply (larder full) of groceries is being slowly reduced (depleted). 2. every year mankind consumes 5 barrels of oil a day (uses) burns for fuel. There are 10 barrels of oil available to be drilled globally before we run out of oil. The oil available is being depleted by 5 barrels a day. in this example, in one day the earths oil supply will be totally depleted. there will be no more oil left to drill for. 3. A shopkeeper buys goods to fill his shelf everyday customers buy from the shelves. The stock on the shelves is being consumed by the customers, who use it. Every day the stock on the shelves is being depleted little by little until, by the end of the week, the shopkeeper has to replenish the shelves. to avoid them becoming totally depleted.

Consumption means something is being used, while depletion just means it is going away. To elaborate, if you have a jar of cookies and you eat them, that is consumption of the cookies causing depletion of the cookies. However, if you throw them in the trash, then it is just depletion, since the cookies are not being consumed (used).

Consumption means something is being used, while depletion just means it is going away. To elaborate, if you have a jar of cookies and you eat them, that is consumption of the cookies causing depletion of the cookies. However, if you throw them in the trash, then it is just depletion, since the cookies are not being consumed (used).