decimated

past tense of decimate
as in destroyed
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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of decimated Two places whose nature this law won’t change soon are Altadena and the Pacific Palisades district of Los Angeles, both decimated in last January’s firestorms. Thomas Elias, Mercury News, 21 Oct. 2025 Detroit's secondary being decimated by injuries. Austin Mock, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025 But some are cautiously celebrating, as the agreement has left many unanswered questions about the future of Gaza, which has been decimated, whether the ceasefire will hold and if Israel and Hamas can reach lasting peace. Miami Herald, 13 Oct. 2025 The infrastructure in Gaza has been decimated. Brett Samuels, The Hill, 13 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for decimated
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decimated
Verb
  • Herodotus reasoned that had Helen in fact been within the walls of Troy instead of in Egypt, the Trojans would surely have surrendered her to the Greeks rather than allow their city to be destroyed.
    Elizabeth D. Samet, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2025
  • Your homes may have been damaged or destroyed and your communities and towns no longer look the same.
    Abigail Adams, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • No, baseball was not yet ruined.
    Andy McCullough, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
  • There is even Depardieu’s own late son, Guillaume, whose death at age thirty-seven was hastened along by heroin use that had ruined his health, and over whom Ferrara recalls Depardieu shedding copious tears during one of their early meetings.
    Nick Pinkerton, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The East Wing has been demolished before our eyes.
    ABC News, ABC News, 26 Oct. 2025
  • More recently, high-profile firms including Amazon, Apple, Coinbase, Comcast, Google, Lockheed Martin and Meta Platforms have agreed to help finance the ballroom Trump plans for the White House after ordering the building’s East Wing to be demolished.
    Bill Barrow, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Residents of Kingston, Jamaica, were already dealing with floodwaters on Friday, as concerns are growing that the impact could be the worst since Hurricane Gilbert devastated the island in 1988.
    Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 25 Oct. 2025
  • This happened when Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina last year.
    Chris Dolce, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The case of Mamulya, a donkey whose hoof was shattered, apparently in a mine explosion, becomes central to the story, emblematic of the assistance the sanctuary receives from within and beyond Ukraine’s borders in order to provide state-of-the-art medical treatments.
    Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 24 Oct. 2025
  • But when newspapers shifted from reinforcing social order to documenting disorder in readers’ own communities, audiences responded by distrusting the institution that shattered their comforting myths.
    David Wingrave, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • After back-to-back freezes wrecked their crops in New Smyrna Beach, the Bryans found fertile land in Hollywood and established the county’s first orange grove on the land the house stands on, Taylor said.
    Amanda Rosa October 23, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2025
  • The Ravens host the Chicago Bears in what feels like a must-win for a 1-5 Baltimore squad that’s been wrecked by injuries.
    Andy Scholes, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Wood obviously smashed it on opening weekend, scoring twice against Brentford, while Joao Pedro blanked, filling me with instant regret.
    Holly Shand, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2025
  • The thieves then smashed two display cases using the angle grinder and removed eight pieces of jewelry belonging to Emperor Napoleon and his wife, according to police.
    Mason Leath, ABC News, 22 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Decimated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decimated. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.

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