as in destruction
the state or fact of being rendered nonexistent, physically unsound, or useless
the virtual decimation of the coastal town by the hurricane
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Recent Examples of decimation
The liberal wing of the court sees the decision as a decimation of the Voting Rights Act.
—
Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 29 Apr. 2026
The third generation of Garrods experienced the decimation of the fruit orchard business and, seeking another stable form of income, began boarding horses in 1962.
—Laura Ness, Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2026
Clairvoyance came during an early-March decimation of the Nuggets.
—Fred Katz, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2026
Upon learning that dogs were allowed to roam on the lawn, the reason for its decimation became clear, since this grass, although touted for its shade and drought tolerance, is highly sensitive to dog urine and dog digging.
—Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 4 Apr. 2026
Decades of foreign policy, and most recently, the decimation of foreign aid, has created conditions in which people across the Americas must migrate for survival.
—Taylor Crumpton, Time, 10 Feb. 2026
Opened in 1927 in response to the near-decimation of the koala population in Australia – the cuddly creatures were hunted for their pelts – Lone Pine is now home to about 100 koalas along with other native Australian fauna.
—Zach Wichter, USA Today, 12 Dec. 2025
Language purists like to remind anyone who will listen that decimation actually means the slaughter of one in ten people, and was the military punishment wielded by the Roman army against deserters and mutineers.
—Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025
No doubt the decimation of the terrorist group’s ranks by Israeli strikes concentrated minds among its leaders.
—Bloomberg Opinion, Twin Cities, 16 Oct. 2025
Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 29 Apr. 2026
The third generation of Garrods experienced the decimation of the fruit orchard business and, seeking another stable form of income, began boarding horses in 1962.
—Laura Ness, Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2026
Clairvoyance came during an early-March decimation of the Nuggets.
—Fred Katz, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2026
Upon learning that dogs were allowed to roam on the lawn, the reason for its decimation became clear, since this grass, although touted for its shade and drought tolerance, is highly sensitive to dog urine and dog digging.
—Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 4 Apr. 2026
Decades of foreign policy, and most recently, the decimation of foreign aid, has created conditions in which people across the Americas must migrate for survival.
—Taylor Crumpton, Time, 10 Feb. 2026
Opened in 1927 in response to the near-decimation of the koala population in Australia – the cuddly creatures were hunted for their pelts – Lone Pine is now home to about 100 koalas along with other native Australian fauna.
—Zach Wichter, USA Today, 12 Dec. 2025
Language purists like to remind anyone who will listen that decimation actually means the slaughter of one in ten people, and was the military punishment wielded by the Roman army against deserters and mutineers.
—Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025
No doubt the decimation of the terrorist group’s ranks by Israeli strikes concentrated minds among its leaders.
—Bloomberg Opinion, Twin Cities, 16 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decimation
Noun
-
Israeli troops occupy more than 10% of Lebanese territory, leaving a trail of destruction that has seen swaths of the country’s south all but razed.—
Nabih Bulos,
Los Angeles Times,
15 June 2026
-
There are those who would write her off, and perhaps her timidity before America’s facilitation of Gaza’s destruction has earned that dismissal.—
Ta-Nehisi Coates,
Vanity Fair,
15 June 2026
Noun
-
Williams views Leap Life—named after his leap-year birthday—as an attempt to commune with the dead, particularly in light of the ongoing devastation in Palestine, Sudan, Haiti, Congo, and Yemen.—
Alex Suskind,
Pitchfork,
17 June 2026
-
Hanuse uses footage of the smallpox survivors in the film that is over 100 years old, underscoring the devastation but also their strength.—
Carole Horst,
Variety,
17 June 2026
Noun
-
The Tapanuli orangutan struggle to withstand even small increases in death rates and annual losses of more than 1% a year likely put the species on a path toward extinction, Meijaard said.—
Mustafa Qadri,
CNN Money,
16 June 2026
-
That would come as a surprise to variola major, the virus that caused smallpox, driven to extinction by a vaccine.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2026
Noun
-
El Niño can also wreak havoc on the many marine ecosystems that support the world’s fishing industries, including coral reefs and seagrass meadows.—
Dillon Amaya,
The Conversation,
12 June 2026
-
From stunting and weakening plant growth to delaying flower production, these 1/10th-inch-long pests can wreak havoc.—
Abby Monteil,
The Spruce,
12 June 2026
Noun
-
The Spurs accrued a 10-point lead at that point, blitzing the Knicks with the type of pressure expected from a team that was a loss away from an offseason filled with sadness.—
Fiifi Frimpong,
New York Daily News,
14 June 2026
-
The Dodgers’ recent bullpen problems persisted in a 6-4 loss Sunday, overshadowing a bounce-back effort from Emmet Sheehan.—
Maddie Lee,
Los Angeles Times,
14 June 2026
Noun
-
Research also suggests that recycling construction and demolition waste could meet half of China’s aggregate demand by 2050.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
15 June 2026
-
The measure would suspend Historic Preservation Board review across the Downtown Historic District for three years, routing decisions — including demolitions — around the board entirely.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
15 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Decimation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decimation. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
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