decimation

American  

[des-uh-mey-shuhn] / ˌdɛs əˈmeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the destruction of a great number or proportion of people, animals, or things.

   There is growing evidence that pesticide use is contributing significantly to the decimation of bee populations.

2. the act or practice of killing one-tenth of a population, as a punishment, to cull wild animals, or for other purposes.

   The Roman Empire used decimation, executing 1 in 10 people—ordinary citizens, slaves, or soldiers—to quell mutinies, riots, and other uprisings.

---

Etymology

Origin of decimation

First recorded in 1450–1500, for an earlier sense; from Latin decimātiōn-, stem of decimātiō “a punishing of every tenth man”; see decimate ( def. ), -ion ( def. )

Explanation

Decimation is the near-total destruction of a group, like the decimation of the candy bars that your brother was selling for school. Sorry, little brother! Decimation implies that nearly all of a population has been destroyed or killed. You might be angry about the decimation of the rainforest in a region of South America or the decimation of the coral in a reef where you'd hoped to snorkel some day. This noun comes from a Late Latin root, decimationem, which means "removal of a tenth." In ancient Rome, decimation was a military punishment that involved killing one out of every ten soldiers.

Example Sentences

When we started writing our first album Manifest Decimation, I remember the rest of the band getting into Sacrilege with me and Chris Ulsh.

From The Guardian • Feb. 21, 2017

The 80-year-old said he was "fuming and furious" about the error, which saw songs by the group Abhorrent Decimation printed on his CD.

From BBC • Apr. 25, 2016

Decimation lawsuits filed against the team last year further embarrassed MLS, which in February bought out the family of Jorge Vergara, a Mexican businessman, for about $70 million.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• assassination
• bloodbath
• bloodshed
• carnage
• extermination
• genocide
• murder
• slaughter
• slaying