decimate
verb
John DrydenJason Diamos
Did you know?
Decimate is a word that often raises hackles, at least those belonging to a small but committed group of logophiles who feel that it is commonly misused. The issue that they have with the decline and fall of the word decimate is that once upon a time in ancient Rome it had a very singular meaning: “to select by lot and kill every tenth man of a military unit.” However, many words in English descended from Latin have changed and/or expanded their meanings in their travels. For example, we no longer think of sinister as meaning “on the left side,” and delicious can describe things both tasty and delightful. Was the “to kill every tenth man” meaning the original use of decimate in English? Yes, but not by much. It took only a few decades for decimate to acquire its broader, familiar meaning of “to severely damage or destroy,” which has been employed steadily since the 17th century.
Examples of decimate in a Sentence
Lee Marshall, Travel + Leisure, 15 Apr. 2025
The building maintenance team’s contract expired Wednesday, which decimated the staff that had handled plumbing, HVAC and the elevators.
—Lisa Song, ProPublica, 11 Apr. 2025
These trade deficits have decimated our manufacturing sector and many working-class families and their communities, to facilitate non-Americans trading with each other.
—Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 11 Apr. 2025
The team, decimated by injuries to its rotation, needed a major-league-ready starting pitcher.
—Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for decimate
Cite this Entry
“Decimate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/decimate. Accessed 28 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
decimate
verb
Share