Decimate
verb
To destroy or remove a large portion of something.
The hurricane decimated the town.
Often appears as...
- decimate the population
- decimate the crops
verb
To reduce something greatly in number or amount.
The disease decimated the population.
Often appears as...
- decimate the ranks
- decimate the herd
verb
In ancient Rome, to kill one in every ten of a group of soldiers as a punishment for the whole group.
The Roman general decided to decimate his own troops for their disobedience.
Often appears as...
- decimate the legion
- decimate the cohort
Usage tips
Disapproving
Historical
verb
To destroy or remove a large portion of something.
The hurricane decimated the town.
Often appears as...
- decimate the population
- decimate the crops
verb
To reduce something greatly in number or amount.
The disease decimated the population.
Often appears as...
- decimate the ranks
- decimate the herd
verb
In ancient Rome, to kill one in every ten of a group of soldiers as a punishment for the whole group.
The Roman general decided to decimate his own troops for their disobedience.
Often appears as...
- decimate the legion
- decimate the cohort
Usage tips
Disapproving
Historical
Definition 1 of 3
Pro Tip 1/3Metaphorical Usage
Often used metaphorically to express severe damage, not always physical destruction.
The financial crisis decimated the industry.
Pro Tip 2/3Intensity
'Decimate' implies extensive harm but not total destruction.
Locusts can decimate fields of crops but won't wipe out everything.
Pro Tip 3/3Emotional Weight
It carries an emotional weight, suggesting a catastrophe or disaster.
The community was decimated by the plant closure.
Pro Tip 1/3Metaphorical Usage
Often used metaphorically to express severe damage, not always physical destruction.
The financial crisis decimated the industry.
Pro Tip 2/3Intensity
'Decimate' implies extensive harm but not total destruction.
Locusts can decimate fields of crops but won't wipe out everything.
Pro Tip 3/3Emotional Weight
It carries an emotional weight, suggesting a catastrophe or disaster.
The community was decimated by the plant closure.
Pro Tip 1/3Metaphorical Usage
Often used metaphorically to express severe damage, not always physical destruction.
The financial crisis decimated the industry.
Pro Tip 2/3Intensity
'Decimate' implies extensive harm but not total destruction.
Locusts can decimate fields of crops but won't wipe out everything.
Pro Tip 3/3Emotional Weight
It carries an emotional weight, suggesting a catastrophe or disaster.
The community was decimated by the plant closure.
Compare with
annihilatordemolishdestroydevastateeradicateexterminateobliterateslaughterwipe out
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Video examples
Inside the killer whale...
With each passing year, her contributions become more overfishing and habitat destruction have decimated salmon populations, putting the whales at near-constant risk of starvation. These grandmothers’ expertise can mean the difference between life and death for their families–
Video examples
Measuring the ocean’s...
decimated whale populations but it also fuelled the global economy it Chabad wasn't hunting whales because he wanted to drive a species extinct or destroy the ocean it was his livelihood a way to feed his family a part of his identity so these revelations helped lead me to
Video examples
How we'll earn money in...
and, of course, they've paid more. So it has been a positive story. That's the way things have played out so far. But there is one particular class of worker for whom the story has been quite different. For these workers, technology has completely decimated their work,
Video examples
The sharks that hunt in...
those predators grow up to protect their forest homes. Unfortunately, both sides of this delicate balance are under threat. Overfishing has decimated shark populations worldwide, and many marine forests are being polluted or cut down for coastal development.
Video examples
What’s so great about...
such as zebra and quagga mussels, and sea lampreys that have decimated some indigenous fish populations. On a larger scale, climate change is causing the waters to warm, thus reducing water levels and changing the distribution of aquatic life.
Video examples
Sending Humans to Mars:...
Will our plans be altered? - I think they should be, right? Because now we've got to understand and figure out what's happening, try not to completely decimate their way of being and life in terms of, probably, microbial structures and such.
Video examples
An honest look at the...
Months of slow pay and no pay have decimated my credit. Bill collectors call constantly, reading verbatim from a script before expressing polite sympathy for my plight and then demanding payment arrangements I can't possibly meet.
Video examples
See an Apocalyptic World...
the city postulates a world post mankind something has happened that's a decimated the human population so these are the city after man is gone and it's just the way that buildings age and crumble and nature takes back some
Video examples
Sleep is your superpower...
It is your life-support system, and it is Mother Nature's best effort yet at immortality. And the decimation of sleep throughout industrialized nations is having a catastrophic impact on our health, our wellness,
Video examples
Saving a Pangolin's Life...
asian medicines has decimated their numbers worldwide today a pangolin will be taken from the wild every five minutes
Video examples
Inside the killer whale...
With each passing year, her contributions become more overfishing and habitat destruction have decimated salmon populations, putting the whales at near-constant risk of starvation. These grandmothers’ expertise can mean the difference between life and death for their families–
Video examples
Measuring the ocean’s...
decimated whale populations but it also fuelled the global economy it Chabad wasn't hunting whales because he wanted to drive a species extinct or destroy the ocean it was his livelihood a way to feed his family a part of his identity so these revelations helped lead me to
Video examples
How we'll earn money in...
and, of course, they've paid more. So it has been a positive story. That's the way things have played out so far. But there is one particular class of worker for whom the story has been quite different. For these workers, technology has completely decimated their work,
Video examples
The sharks that hunt in...
those predators grow up to protect their forest homes. Unfortunately, both sides of this delicate balance are under threat. Overfishing has decimated shark populations worldwide, and many marine forests are being polluted or cut down for coastal development.
Video examples
What’s so great about...
such as zebra and quagga mussels, and sea lampreys that have decimated some indigenous fish populations. On a larger scale, climate change is causing the waters to warm, thus reducing water levels and changing the distribution of aquatic life.
Video examples
Sending Humans to Mars:...
Will our plans be altered? - I think they should be, right? Because now we've got to understand and figure out what's happening, try not to completely decimate their way of being and life in terms of, probably, microbial structures and such.
Video examples
An honest look at the...
Months of slow pay and no pay have decimated my credit. Bill collectors call constantly, reading verbatim from a script before expressing polite sympathy for my plight and then demanding payment arrangements I can't possibly meet.
Video examples
See an Apocalyptic World...
the city postulates a world post mankind something has happened that's a decimated the human population so these are the city after man is gone and it's just the way that buildings age and crumble and nature takes back some
Video examples
Sleep is your superpower...
It is your life-support system, and it is Mother Nature's best effort yet at immortality. And the decimation of sleep throughout industrialized nations is having a catastrophic impact on our health, our wellness,
Video examples
Saving a Pangolin's Life...
asian medicines has decimated their numbers worldwide today a pangolin will be taken from the wild every five minutes
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Junot Diaz
American Writer
The Caribbean is such an apocalyptic place, whether it's the decimation of the indigenous populations by the Europeans, whether it's the importation of slaves and their subsequent being worked to death by the millions in many ways, whether it's the immigrant processes which began for many people, new worlds ending their old ones.
Quote examples
Adam Lashinsky
American Editor
What to do with a leading business that's challenged by a new technology wave without hurting an existing profit stream? The single greatest example of recent memory is Apple's willingness to decimate iPod sales by incorporating all the category-defining product's features into a new gizmo, the iPhone.
Quote examples
Molly Bloom
American Author
I've been rich; I've been poor. I've been successful; I've been decimated. And the way I felt inside didn't change dramatically. It's less stressful to have money, that's for sure. But that doesn't mean I felt fulfilled. So I've learned to live in the smaller moments of life.
Quote examples
Trent Reznor
American Musician
After coming from a major label, I realized the entire business has been decimated, and you can't look to labels to try to figure it out because they don't even use the technology, and they're oblivious to how people consume music these days.
Quote examples
Walter Mosley
American Novelist
My father's life was so decimated by his earliest experiences. His mother died when he was 7 years old, which he always said was the worst experience in his life. When he was 8, his father disappeared and he was on his own from the age of 8.
Quote examples
Wayne LaPierre
American Activist
Under Obama, we have seen the U.S. military - the most exceptional force for peace in the world - degraded, downsized, decimated and demeaned, resulting in massive international instability and potential threats to our homeland.
Quote examples
Steve Backshall
The scariest animal is without doubt human beings. We are the only species that decimates the very environment that we require to live.
Quote examples
Nelson Algren
American Novelist
Since I'm essentially optimistic, I can't imagine a world in which man is totally decimated or degraded.
Quote examples
Martin Scorsese
American Director
Alcohol decimated the working class and so many people.
Quote examples
Paul Butterfield
American Musician
They want to create rather than decimate.
Quote examples
Junot Diaz
American Writer
The Caribbean is such an apocalyptic place, whether it's the decimation of the indigenous populations by the Europeans, whether it's the importation of slaves and their subsequent being worked to death by the millions in many ways, whether it's the immigrant processes which began for many people, new worlds ending their old ones.
Quote examples
Adam Lashinsky
American Editor
What to do with a leading business that's challenged by a new technology wave without hurting an existing profit stream? The single greatest example of recent memory is Apple's willingness to decimate iPod sales by incorporating all the category-defining product's features into a new gizmo, the iPhone.
Quote examples
Molly Bloom
American Author
I've been rich; I've been poor. I've been successful; I've been decimated. And the way I felt inside didn't change dramatically. It's less stressful to have money, that's for sure. But that doesn't mean I felt fulfilled. So I've learned to live in the smaller moments of life.
Quote examples
Trent Reznor
American Musician
After coming from a major label, I realized the entire business has been decimated, and you can't look to labels to try to figure it out because they don't even use the technology, and they're oblivious to how people consume music these days.
Quote examples
Walter Mosley
American Novelist
My father's life was so decimated by his earliest experiences. His mother died when he was 7 years old, which he always said was the worst experience in his life. When he was 8, his father disappeared and he was on his own from the age of 8.
Quote examples
Wayne LaPierre
American Activist
Under Obama, we have seen the U.S. military - the most exceptional force for peace in the world - degraded, downsized, decimated and demeaned, resulting in massive international instability and potential threats to our homeland.
Quote examples
Steve Backshall
The scariest animal is without doubt human beings. We are the only species that decimates the very environment that we require to live.
Quote examples
Nelson Algren
American Novelist
Since I'm essentially optimistic, I can't imagine a world in which man is totally decimated or degraded.
Quote examples
Martin Scorsese
American Director
Alcohol decimated the working class and so many people.
Quote examples
Paul Butterfield
American Musician
They want to create rather than decimate.
Example 1 of 10
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