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?

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.

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

More: 'Elon is going to get decimated:' How Trump's feud with the world's richest man might end Within hours of the Trump-Musk fight going public on June 5, Tesla shares dropped 15%, wiping over $100 billion from the company’s $1 trillion market value. —Josh Meyer, USA Today, 7 June 2025

The discovery of unexploded weapons is a frequent phenomenon in Cologne, which was decimated by Allied bombing during World War II, but no operation of this size has been carried out since the end of the war, the city said. —Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 4 June 2025

The Education Department’s Institute of Education Sciences, its research arm, faced $900 million in cuts under DOGE’s directive, decimating employment both in the agency and among other research groups whose workers relied on federal contracts. —Lexi Lonas Cochran, The Hill, 4 June 2025

Fugate’s appointment is the latest shock for an office that has been decimated since President Donald Trump returned to the White House and began remaking national security to give it a laser focus on immigration. —Hannah Allam, ProPublica, 4 June 2025

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

Rhymes for decimate

• abdicate
• abrogate
• acetate
• activate
• actuate
• adsorbate
• aggravate
• agitate
• alginate
• alienate
• allocate
• amputate

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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