as in to destroy
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of
the army's attack decimated the enemy's defenses beyond repair
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of decimate
While high prices at the grocery store might entice would-be farmers to start herds, rising input costs and farmland decimated by drought have made entering the profession nearly impossible.
—
Anthony Pahnke, Boston Herald, 23 Mar. 2026
The sell-off has created a great buying opportunity for a century-old airline undergoing a successful long-term turnaround that's poised to surpass its earnings achieved before the pandemic decimated the industry.
—Timothy Seymour, CNBC, 23 Mar. 2026
Add to that, the critical fire risk caused by aging transmission lines, the cause of California's deadliest and most destructive fire that decimated the town of Paradise back in 2018.
—Dana Taylor, USA Today, 23 Mar. 2026
The win flipped the result of the same fixture from last season, where the Rapids were decimated by the same score by an arguably even worse SKC team while in the midst of a playoff push.
—Braidon Nourse, Denver Post, 22 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for decimate
Anthony Pahnke, Boston Herald, 23 Mar. 2026
The sell-off has created a great buying opportunity for a century-old airline undergoing a successful long-term turnaround that's poised to surpass its earnings achieved before the pandemic decimated the industry.
—Timothy Seymour, CNBC, 23 Mar. 2026
Add to that, the critical fire risk caused by aging transmission lines, the cause of California's deadliest and most destructive fire that decimated the town of Paradise back in 2018.
—Dana Taylor, USA Today, 23 Mar. 2026
The win flipped the result of the same fixture from last season, where the Rapids were decimated by the same score by an arguably even worse SKC team while in the midst of a playoff push.
—Braidon Nourse, Denver Post, 22 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for decimate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decimate
Verb
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Later, a fire at Hall’s grandmother’s house would destroy most of his magic act.—
Vinson Cunningham,
New Yorker,
29 Mar. 2026
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This time around, in that first wave of strikes on February 28, American cruise missiles targeted and destroyed a building that ended up being a girls’ school—killing more than 168 young children who had just started their day of classes.—
Connor Okeeffe,
Oc Register,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Our team found that a hospital cyberattack cut the odds of surviving a cardiac arrest without devastating brain damage by nearly 90% at nearby hospitals, not just the one that was attacked.—
Jeffrey Tully,
Fortune,
26 Mar. 2026
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Look, if this had happened in my third season playing this character, I’d be devastated.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
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However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacbee.com,
29 Mar. 2026
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Accused of ruining baseball with their big-spending ways the past two years, the noise has only gotten louder as a labor showdown looms.—
Bill Plunkett,
Oc Register,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The beach patrol headquarters is in danger of collapsing and will be demolished this weekend.—
Ryan Hughes,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
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The library, which blocked a view of the water for 30 years, was demolished, moved several blocks west as part of a new cultural center.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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But customers should not expect earth-shattering menu changes.—
Michael Deeds,
Idaho Statesman,
2 Apr. 2026
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World Cup That dream come true feeling Some dreams were shattered last night, other dreams were made.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The strike, blamed on the military, killed 70 people and wrecked Al Daein Teaching Hospital, which had served people across the province of East Darfur.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
26 Mar. 2026
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On the edges of Beirut's stylish downtown area and the trendy Mar Mikhael neighborhood is the devastated port area, wrecked by a massive explosion in 2020, with efforts to apportion responsibility for the disaster allegedly repeatedly stymied by Hezbollah.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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One of the men is seen on surveillance video smashing the front door with a metal object and connecting the ATM to the vehicle using a metal cable.—
Lillie Davidson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
29 Mar. 2026
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Particle accelerators like the LHC typically work by firing beams of particles at nearly the speed of light and smashing them together.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Decimate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decimate. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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