decimate

verb

dec·​i·​mate ˈde-sə-ˌmāt 

decimated; decimating

transitive verb

1

: to select by lot and kill every tenth man of

decimate a regiment

2

: to exact a tax of 10 percent from

poor as a decimated Cavalier

—John Dryden

3

a

: to reduce drastically especially in number

cholera decimated the population

Kamieniecki's return comes at a crucial time for a pitching staff that has been decimated by injuries.

—Jason Diamos

b

: to cause great destruction or harm to

firebombs decimated the city

an industry decimated by recession

decimation

ˌde-sə-ˈmā-shən 

noun

Did you know?

The connection between decimate and the number ten harks back to a brutal practice of the army of ancient Rome. A unit that was guilty of a severe crime (such as mutiny) was punished by selecting and executing one-tenth of its soldiers, thereby scaring the remaining nine-tenths into obedience. The word comes from Latin decem, meaning "ten." Decimate strayed from its "tenth" meaning and nowadays refers to the act of destroying or hurting something in great numbers.

Synonyms

• annihilate
• cream
• demolish
• desolate
• destroy
• devastate
• do in
• extinguish
• nuke
• pull down
• pulverize
• raze
• rub out
• ruin
• shatter
• smash
• tear down
• total
• vaporize
• waste
• wrack
• wreck

Examples of decimate in a Sentence

This kind of moth is responsible for decimating thousands of trees in our town.

Budget cuts have decimated public services in small towns.

Recent Examples on the Web

Understanding the behavior and movement patterns for any species is illuminating, but particularly with humpback whales, whose populations have rebounded in recent decades after being decimated by commercial whaling. —Alexandra E. Petri, New York Times, 13 Dec. 2024

Indeed, in addition to decimating the upper ranks of Hezbollah, Israel had degraded the group’s vast arsenal of Iranian rockets and missiles, and Israel continued to attack Iranian arms shipments to Hezbollah in Syria even after Israel and Lebanon declared a cease-fire on November 27. —Natasha Hall, Foreign Affairs, 9 Dec. 2024

Despite Hill's standout efforts, the Saints have struggled throughout the season, dropping seven straight after a promising 2-0 start, with injuries continuing to decimate their offensive depth. —Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 6 Dec. 2024

The Niners built a stars-and-scrubs roster and were decimated by bad injuries to those stars. —Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 6 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin decimatus, past participle of decimare, from decimus tenth, from decem ten

First Known Use

1660, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

decimate

verb

dec·​i·​mate ˈdes-ə-ˌmāt 

decimated; decimating

1

: to pick by lot and kill every tenth man of

the Roman army would decimate a legion for cowardice

2

: to destroy a large part of

a population decimated by an epidemic

decimation

ˌdes-ə-ˈmā-shən 

noun