decimated

adjective

dec·​i·​mat·​ed ˈde-sə-ˌmā-təd 

1

: drastically reduced especially in number

… the decimated population of Atlantic salmon that once gamboled in dozens of rivers in the northeastern United States …

—Pete Bodo

A denuded forest may one day regrow; the decimated culture that called it home sadly will not.

—Stephen Messenger

2

: destroyed or significantly harmed

… its dusty streets, scattered with burned out vehicles and flanked on either side by decimated buildings.

—Jay Akbar

Many workers may want to delay retirement to replenish decimated 401(k) portfolios …

—Emily Brandon

Can we take as governor a man who'd give $46 million in public money to a bottling lobby, instead of using it to salvage decimated public programs?

—David Nyhan

see also decimate

Examples of decimated in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

These innovations transformed decimated inner-city areas into stable and desirable neighborhoods. —Sandy Hornick, Foreign Affairs, 1 July 2011

First responders turned off the gas line servicing the decimated property. —Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 3 May 2024

From there, the U.S. hopes to extend the truce and start rebuilding the decimated Gaza Strip. —Tribune News Service, Hartford Courant, 8 Apr. 2024

Patrick Somerville Deep in the peak of a variant spike in the pandemic, Max dropped its best original offering to date, a timely examination of the need for hope in a decimated world. —Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 17 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1658, in the meaning defined at sense 1