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.

Examples of decimate in a Sentence

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

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Instead, Israel has decimated Hamas and turned Hezbollah—previously Iran's greatest regional asset—into a chicken running around without its head. —

Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2024 Republicans are decimating jobs, Democrats are delivering jobs. —

Andrew Solender, Axios, 2 Nov. 2024 From a tactical perspective, Israel pulled off a stunning feat: The four-decades-old Lebanese group was the most powerful nonstate military actor in the world, and Israel decimated its top three tiers of leadership, severely weakening it and throwing it into disarray. —

Kim Ghattas, The Atlantic, 2 Nov. 2024 The music has been reduced to a soundtrack to countrywide gang violence that’s decimating a generation of Black and Brown youth. —

Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 26 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for decimate