decimate

[des-uh-meyt]

verb (used with object)

decimated, decimating 

1. to kill or destroy a great number or proportion of.

   The population was decimated by a plague.

2. to greatly reduce in number or amount.

   From 1975-1981, our country was not driving the space exploration agenda, and our aerospace workforce was decimated.

3. to cause to suffer great loss or harm.

   The constant eruptions that spewed forth decimated the forest and turned it to ash.

4. to select by lot and kill every tenth person of.

5. Obsolete.,  to take a tenth of or from.

decimate

/ ˈdɛsɪˌmeɪt /

verb

1. to destroy or kill a large proportion of

   a plague decimated the population

2. (esp in the ancient Roman army) to kill every tenth man of (a mutinous section)

Usage

One talks about the whole of something being decimated, not a part: disease decimated the population, not disease decimated most of the population

Other Word Forms

• decimation noun
• decimator noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of decimate¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin decimātus, past participle of decimāre “to punish every tenth man chosen by lot,” verbal derivative of decimus “tenth,” derivative of decem “ten”; ten, -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of decimate¹

C17: from Latin decimāre, from decimus tenth, from decem ten

Example Sentences

Israel, meanwhile, is loath to let up too soon on an enemy that has been decimated and fragmented into small groups by its advance.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Or the devastating Pasadena and Altadena wildfires that decimated historic libraries and cultural archives.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In August, a documentary filmmaker, primary care physician and wildlife ecologist sued the government authorities overseeing the agencies, claiming the roundups will decimate the herd to the point where long-term survival is unlikely.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

But when wasting disease in effect wiped out their main predator, the sea urchins exploded in number, decimating kelp forests and transforming once-lush underwater habitats into so-called urchin barrens.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

At worst, biomass projects can decimate forests and release their stored carbon into the atmosphere.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• annihilate 
• exterminate 
• obliterate 
• slaughter 
• wipe out