decimated

adjective

dec·​i·​mat·​ed ˈde-sə-ˌmā-təd 

1

: drastically reduced especially in number

… the decimated population of Atlantic salmon that once gamboled in dozens of rivers in the northeastern United States …

—Pete Bodo

A denuded forest may one day regrow; the decimated culture that called it home sadly will not.

—Stephen Messenger

2

: destroyed or significantly harmed

… its dusty streets, scattered with burned out vehicles and flanked on either side by decimated buildings.

—Jay Akbar

Many workers may want to delay retirement to replenish decimated 401(k) portfolios …

—Emily Brandon

Can we take as governor a man who'd give $46 million in public money to a bottling lobby, instead of using it to salvage decimated public programs?

—David Nyhan

see also decimate

Examples of decimated in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have filed through the area, many of them returning decimated homes in the north, by foot, car and in some cases, by donkeys. —Sophie Tanno, CNN, 9 Feb. 2025

Power outages were reported across Los Angeles County and local residents in the decimated Pacific Palisades area were told to boil or use bottled water. —Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 10 Jan. 2025

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images Major retailers across the country have begun limiting the number of cartons of eggs shoppers can buy, as prices continue to climb amid a decimated chicken supply. —Ayana Archie, NPR, 13 Feb. 2025

Israel’s military campaign since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks has erased entire families, spawned starvation and disease, and decimated medical infrastructure in Gaza. —Abeer Salman, CNN, 3 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1658, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for decimated

• abdicated
• abrogated
• acclimated
• activated
• actuated
• adumbrated
• advocated
• aggravated
• aggregated
• agitated
• allocated
• alternated