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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Recent Examples of decimate
However, record-high temperatures in March decimated what little snowpack the mountains managed to build up with the first two storms.
—
Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 22 May 2026
Watching Ulong get decimated all the way down to a tribe of one was must-see TV, and the challenges are arguably the franchise's best.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 22 May 2026
Similarly, his divide-and-conquer tactics have successfully decimated any dissent within the GOP.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 20 May 2026
The fire has decimated about one-third of the island and destroyed at least three historic structures on Santa Rosa Island.
—Brandi D. Addison, USA Today, 20 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for decimate
Camila Pedrosa, Sacbee.com, 22 May 2026
Watching Ulong get decimated all the way down to a tribe of one was must-see TV, and the challenges are arguably the franchise's best.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 22 May 2026
Similarly, his divide-and-conquer tactics have successfully decimated any dissent within the GOP.
—Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 20 May 2026
The fire has decimated about one-third of the island and destroyed at least three historic structures on Santa Rosa Island.
—Brandi D. Addison, USA Today, 20 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for decimate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decimate
Verb
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Fueled by large stocks of critically dry vegetation and extreme winds, the fires killed 31 people, destroyed nearly 12,000 homes, and forced over 150,000 evacuations.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
31 May 2026
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But satellite images reviewed by CNN show how Iran has used simple equipment such as bulldozers and dump trucks to counter those costly campaigns — suggesting that Tehran’s missile capabilities can’t be destroyed just by targeting tunnel entrances, experts said.—
Tamara Qiblawi,
CNN Money,
31 May 2026
Verb
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Horvath faced issues in her district that includes county areas devastated by the Palisades fire.—
Steve Scauzillo,
Daily News,
28 May 2026
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The war is devastating the influence and image of Russian President Vladimir Putin.—
Arthur I. Cyr,
Chicago Tribune,
27 May 2026
Verb
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Our house, ruined by the 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake, was rebuilt from the foundation up.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 June 2026
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Undefeated this season on clay, the 15th-seeded Ukrainian player reached the quarterfinals at the French Open for the first time on Sunday by taking out four-time champion Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-1 and ruining her birthday.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
31 May 2026
Verb
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Two other properties were purchased in 2024, one of which was a barbershop that was demolished, and a third property was purchased in 2025.—
Delia Rose Sauer,
Miami Herald,
29 May 2026
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Before filing plans to demolish the building within the next two weeks, Kennedy planned Thursday night’s event to honor the structure.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
29 May 2026
Verb
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Twice, Liverpool shattered their transfer record last summer with the £100million purchase of Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen, potentially rising to £116m with add-ons, followed by the £125m deal for Alexander Isak from Newcastle United after an acrimonious summer-long saga.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
28 May 2026
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This Avs team once felt inevitable, but the past week shattered that.—
Corey Masisak,
Denver Post,
27 May 2026
Verb
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Those teams already are wrecking the owners’ claims that baseball lacks competitive balance.—
Ken Rosenthal,
New York Times,
27 May 2026
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Junk yards and auto wrecking services will soon be paying $354 instead of $273 for their new license, and secondhand dealers will see reduced fees — paying $354 instead of $480.—
Julie Gallant,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 May 2026
Verb
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Prosecutors argued at trial that Shirilla smashed into the building to end her toxic relationship with Russo, and Flanagan just happened to be along for the ride.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
30 May 2026
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Lackey, whose name has become synonymous with this all-time great Tech season, smashed a two-run homer that went 456 feet at 110 mph off the bat.—
Gabriel Burns,
AJC.com,
29 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Decimate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decimate. Accessed 1 Jun. 2026.
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