decimate
verb
John DrydenJason Diamos
Did you know?
Decimate is a word that often raises hackles, at least those belonging to a small but committed group of logophiles who feel that it is commonly misused. The issue that they have with the decline and fall of the word decimate is that once upon a time in ancient Rome it had a very singular meaning: “to select by lot and kill every tenth man of a military unit.” However, many words in English descended from Latin have changed and/or expanded their meanings in their travels. For example, we no longer think of sinister as meaning “on the left side,” and delicious can describe things both tasty and delightful. Was the “to kill every tenth man” meaning the original use of decimate in English? Yes, but not by much. It took only a few decades for decimate to acquire its broader, familiar meaning of “to severely damage or destroy,” which has been employed steadily since the 17th century.
Examples of decimate in a Sentence
Cate Martel, The Hill, 25 June 2025
While Trump has repeatedly claimed that the U.S. bombings of Iran on June 21 decimated the country's nuclear program, multiple outlets obtained a classified report this week that revealed the damage may have been much less severe.
—Meredith Kile, People.com, 25 June 2025
The program has been decimated, but that people who are in charge will come right back at Israel.
—Dan Gooding
hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 June 2025
The missile decimated an apartment block and homes in this neighborhood, but there were no fatalities.
—CBS News, 22 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for decimate
Cite this Entry
“Decimate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/decimate. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.
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decimate
verb
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