Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In 2023, Phillips said the disease had "decimated" her family - with her mother, father and uncle all receiving a diagnosis.

From BBC • Jul. 12, 2025

San Francisco Supervisor Matt Dorsey, whose District 6 includes the SoMa neighborhood, said that crime issues also had decimated staff positions at a nearby day-care center used by the federal employees.

From Washington Times • Aug. 15, 2023

Earlier studies found that Burmese pythons, which are nonnative apex predators originally from South Asia, had decimated native species, including wading birds, marsh rabbits and white-tailed deer.

From New York Times • Mar. 14, 2023

By January 1804, through successful guerrilla tactics, Black revolutionaries had decimated the French army, already suffering an outbreak of yellow fever, to create the Haitian nation.

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

From my spot, I surveyed the scenery and noticed few signs of the war that had decimated our lives.

From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson