decimate

verb

dec·i·mate ˈde-sə-ˌmāt

decimated; decimating

Synonyms of decimate next

transitive verb

: to select by lot and kill every tenth man of

decimate a regiment

: to exact a tax of 10 percent from

poor as a decimated Cavalier—

John Dryden

: to reduce drastically especially in number

cholera decimated the population

Kamieniecki's return comes at a crucial time for a pitching staff that has been decimated by injuries.—

Jason Diamos

: to cause great destruction or harm to

firebombs decimated the city

an industry decimated by recession

decimation

ˌde-sə-ˈmā-shən

noun

Did you know?

The connection between decimate and the number ten harks back to a brutal practice of the army of ancient Rome. A unit that was guilty of a severe crime (such as mutiny) was punished by selecting and executing one-tenth of its soldiers, thereby scaring the remaining nine-tenths into obedience. The word comes from Latin decem, meaning "ten." Decimate strayed from its "tenth" meaning and nowadays refers to the act of destroying or hurting something in great numbers.

Example Sentences

This kind of moth is responsible for decimating thousands of trees in our town. Budget cuts have decimated public services in small towns.

Recent Examples on the Web The tortoises cannot be released back into the wild because captive tortoises can transmit diseases that could decimate wild populations. —

Jake Frederico, The Arizona Republic, 17 Apr. 2023 Worldwide, insects are being decimated in diversity and in numbers. —

Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Apr. 2023 These grapes are cold-hardy and more pest-resistant to a destructive insect that decimated European vineyards in the 19th century. —

Arricca Elin Sansone, Country Living, 15 June 2023 Black Lands unearths and presents information and insight into three Black communities that helped shape New York City’s culture before being decimated and forgotten. —

Elle Decor Editors, ELLE Decor, 13 June 2023 On Java, the 2,700-person town of Merak was completely decimated. —

Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 6 June 2023 Heat and poor rains decimated olive production last year in Spain, which is Europe’s biggest producer of olive oil. —

Raymond Zhong, New York Times, 5 May 2023 In that post-apocalyptic drama, a mysterious fungal outbreak has decimated humanity. —

Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 3 May 2023 Back in 1992 the massive corruption investigation known as Operation Clean Hands was decimating the governing political parties who had allowed Berlusconi to establish a virtual monopoly of private television in Italy. —

Alexander Stille, The New Republic, 4 Apr. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'decimate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.