decimated

[des-uh-mey-tid]

adjective

1. greatly reduced in number or amount, or having suffered great loss or harm.

   The nonprofit agency has been struggling with a decimated staff and limited resources.

   After the massive earthquake, the only way to reach the decimated villages was by helicopter.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of decimate.

Word History and Origins

Origin of decimated¹

decimate ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

Their resistance, from a population harassed, exhausted, decimated but standing tall, is unmatched.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But staffing at the offices was decimated, according to sworn court declarations by DHS officials.

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The report found that this year has been the worst for layoffs since 2020, when the labour market was decimated by the pandemic.

Read more on Barron's

The federal workforce, long a bastion for middle-class people of color, has been decimated.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Hamas, decimated by the conflict in Gaza, could offer little serious help.

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Related Words

• annihilate 
• exterminate 
• obliterate 
• slaughter 
• wipe out