decimate
to kill or destroy a great number or proportion of: The population was decimated by a plague.
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.
to cause to suffer great loss or harm: The constant eruptions that spewed forth decimated the forest and turned it to ash.
to select by lot and kill every tenth person of.
Obsolete. to take a tenth of or from.
Origin of decimate
1word story For decimate
Other words from decimate
- dec·i·ma·tion [des-uh-mey-shuhn], /ˌdɛs əˈmeɪ ʃən/, noun
- dec·i·ma·tor, noun
Words that may be confused with decimate
- decimate , destroy (see word story at the current entry)
Words Nearby decimate
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use decimate in a sentence
After the closure of stores decimated the in-store sampling that many beauty brands relied on, Marie Claire launched a direct mail sampling operation, expecting to gather tens of thousands of signups within the first year.
With America still on lockdown, publishers lean into direct mail | Max Willens | February 1, 2021 | DigidayThe ASF outbreak that decimated China’s pig population in 2019 resulted in national pork output hitting a 16-year low.
How China Could Change the World by Taking Meat Off the Menu | Charlie Campbell/Shanghai | January 22, 2021 | TimeThat’s as scared as I’ve ever seen Thanos, and if he hadn’t said decimate my entire team to get her off of me, I think she would have done it.
Everything You Need to Know Before Watching WandaVision | Eliana Dockterman | January 14, 2021 | TimeStocks have been on a record-shattering tear after a devastating drop-off during the pandemic’s first wave, even as the coronavirus continues to cause mass deaths, halt travel, decimate businesses and push millions into poverty.
Wall Street retreats from record highs amid virus, political uncertainty | Taylor Telford | January 11, 2021 | Washington PostWith the coronavirus pandemic still raging and decimating local businesses, Manna, a drone delivery company, gained approval in late October to launch its service in Oranmore, Ireland.
With grocery store access limited during the pandemic, drone delivery offers a high-tech boost to business | Alyssa Newcomb | January 11, 2021 | Fortune
And now, the plan is not only to decimate public-sector unions, but all unions—to deplete the money they can spend on politics.
The Next Phase of the Koch Brothers’ War on Unions | Carl Deal and Tia Lessin | December 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd, from the south, chronic wasting disease is poised to decimate the elk herds.
When we decimate the funding for hospital preparedness, we put ourselves in great peril.
Instead we must decimate the mid-level leadership ISIS relies on.
Who the U.S. Should Really Hit in ISIS | Daniel Trombly, Yasir Abbas | September 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTOne set of officials advocated for a campaign to decimate ISIS in both countries by striking ISIS targets across Syria.
Why Obama Backed Off More ISIS Strikes: His Own Team Couldn’t Agree on a Syria Strategy | Josh Rogin, Eli Lake | August 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThese are the dreaded wild dogs which decimate the game in the jungle.
Life in an Indian Outpost | Gordon CasserlySoon the artillery of both armies opened, and a rain of cannon balls began to decimate the opposing ranks.
Famous Men and Great Events of the Nineteenth Century | Charles MorrisThis was an ominous hint that he intended to decimate them, after the fashion of Field-Marshal Liposcak.
The Birth of Yugoslavia, Volume 1 | Henry BaerleinOne might easily decimate a whole population, as indeed happened in the South Sea Islands when smallpox was introduced.
The Romance of Plant Life | G. F. Scott ElliotOur men continued to decimate the enemy so thoroughly that they had scarcely five men on deck alive or unwounded.
British Dictionary definitions for decimate
/ (ˈdɛsɪˌmeɪt) /
to destroy or kill a large proportion of: a plague decimated the population
(esp in the ancient Roman army) to kill every tenth man of (a mutinous section)
Origin of decimate
1usage For decimate
Derived forms of decimate
- decimation, noun
- decimator, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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