as in destroying
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 decimating
Israel, meanwhile, has emerged from the war in a much stronger security position after decimating Hamas in Gaza, slamming Hezbollah in Lebanon, and hammering Iran's nuclear facilities.
—
Greg Myre, NPR, 9 Oct. 2025
Through single-cell RNA sequencing, the team indeed saw that glioblastoma upended the skull bone marrow's environment – filling it with pro-inflammatory neutrophils while decimating cancer-fighting antibody-producing B cells.
—New Atlas, 6 Oct. 2025
His latest film, Ocean with David Attenborough, was released in May 2025 just before the United Nations Ocean Conference, showcasing the wonder of underwater habitats while exposing how destructive fishing practices are decimating marine life.
—Elisabeth Brier, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
Apart from decimating hundreds of species, the construction of an airport, a power plant, a ship repair yard, and a township will also cut off the tiny Shompen tribe from much of their habitat.
—M. Rajshekhar, Time, 11 Sep. 2025
That has monumentally changed college sports, of course, funneling schools into the Big Ten and SEC while decimating conferences like our old Pac-12 – but not the appeal of Pac-12 After Dark.
—Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 11 Sep. 2025
There, he was briefed on the massive wildfires that are decimating the northwest region of the country.
—Meredith Kile, People.com, 18 Aug. 2025
Environmental groups, others long oppose SpaceX rocket launches That aggressive approach, though, has rankled environmentalists and others who have criticized SpaceX's operations for potentially decimating regional ecosystems.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 14 Aug. 2025
Combating bird flu Stories about bird flu decimating poultry farms and causing jumps in egg prices have been all across the news in recent months.
—Richard Requena, Chicago Tribune, 5 Apr. 2025
Greg Myre, NPR, 9 Oct. 2025
Through single-cell RNA sequencing, the team indeed saw that glioblastoma upended the skull bone marrow's environment – filling it with pro-inflammatory neutrophils while decimating cancer-fighting antibody-producing B cells.
—New Atlas, 6 Oct. 2025
His latest film, Ocean with David Attenborough, was released in May 2025 just before the United Nations Ocean Conference, showcasing the wonder of underwater habitats while exposing how destructive fishing practices are decimating marine life.
—Elisabeth Brier, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
Apart from decimating hundreds of species, the construction of an airport, a power plant, a ship repair yard, and a township will also cut off the tiny Shompen tribe from much of their habitat.
—M. Rajshekhar, Time, 11 Sep. 2025
That has monumentally changed college sports, of course, funneling schools into the Big Ten and SEC while decimating conferences like our old Pac-12 – but not the appeal of Pac-12 After Dark.
—Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 11 Sep. 2025
There, he was briefed on the massive wildfires that are decimating the northwest region of the country.
—Meredith Kile, People.com, 18 Aug. 2025
Environmental groups, others long oppose SpaceX rocket launches That aggressive approach, though, has rankled environmentalists and others who have criticized SpaceX's operations for potentially decimating regional ecosystems.
—Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 14 Aug. 2025
Combating bird flu Stories about bird flu decimating poultry farms and causing jumps in egg prices have been all across the news in recent months.
—Richard Requena, Chicago Tribune, 5 Apr. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decimating
Verb
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And candidates who stoked fear in voters — with the threat of towering multi-family complexes destroying their communities or costly local infrastructure projects driving up taxes — lost by clear margins.—
Taylor O'Connor,
Kansas City Star,
7 Nov. 2025
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Derek Lopez, 27, was fired from his role at the university after he was caught on camera destroying a Turning Point display.—
Peter D'Abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The Chiefs have seen some of league’s premier running backs — such as Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry and Jahmyr Gibbs — and have met each challenge, preventing those elite players from ruining the defensive game plan.—
Emily Curiel,
Kansas City Star,
26 Oct. 2025
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Clark reiterated his belief that the Dodgers are not ruining baseball.—
Evan Drellich,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The military showed us a map of Hamas tunnel routes Israeli forces are still discovering and demolishing in the area.—
Daniel Estrin,
NPR,
7 Nov. 2025
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Most recently, crews began demolishing the East Wing of the White House.—
Fernando Cervantes Jr,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The user shared another clip in the thread that followed, showing the G1 breaking into a room like a burglar, shattering a glass door.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Nov. 2025
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But to have somebody that's a main character like that actually get killed was something that was shattering to everybody.—
Sabienna Bowman,
PEOPLE,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The fires claimed 102 lives, displaced over 13,000 others and burned more than 3,000 homes, destroying centuries of cultural history and devastating the economy of an entire region, with losses estimated at nearly $13 billion.—
Josh Green,
Time,
30 Oct. 2025
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Pope Leo expressed his closeness to the victims of Hurricane Melissa, which struck Cuba this morning after devastating Jamaica.—
Matt Nighswander,
NBC news,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Storm preparations Cuba has been struck almost yearly by a major hurricane in recent years, sometimes twice, wrecking the country’s already decrepit infrastructure, damaging crops and destroying thousands of homes in precarious condition.—
Nora Gámez Torres,
Miami Herald,
27 Oct. 2025
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That history came to an end after wrecking crews tore down the wing’s two stories of offices and reception rooms last week.—
Darlene Superville,
Denver Post,
26 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The ceremony involved smashing a bottle of champagne into the hull of the submarine, which Navy Commander Admiral Aleksandr Moiseev did.—
Abhishek Bhardwaj,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Nov. 2025
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The situation is likely to seem even more bizarre to some people, after a video was released Tuesday, showing Perry picking up a birthday cake presented to her by her Lifetimes Tour backup dancers and smashing it on the ground.—
Martha Ross,
Mercury News,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Decimating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decimating. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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