decimation

dec·i·mate

 (dĕs′ə-māt′)

tr.v. dec·i·mat·ed, dec·i·mat·ing, dec·i·mates

1. To destroy or kill a large part of (a group of people or organisms).

2. Usage Problem

a. To inflict great destruction or damage on: The storm decimated the region.

b. To reduce markedly in amount: a profligate heir who decimated his trust fund.

3. To select by lot and kill one in every ten of (a group of soldiers).

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[Latin decimāre, decimāt-, to punish every tenth person, from decimus, tenth, from decem, ten; see dekm̥ in Indo-European roots.]

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dec′i·ma′tion n.

Usage Note: Decimate originally referred to the killing of every tenth person, a punishment used in the Roman army for mutinous legions. Today this meaning is commonly extended to include the killing of any large proportion of a population. In our 2005 survey, 81 percent of the Usage Panel accepts this extension in the sentence The Jewish population of Germany was decimated by the war, even though it is common knowledge that the number of Jews killed was much greater than a tenth of the original population. This is an increase from the 66 percent who accepted this sentence in our 1988 survey. However, the Panel is less accepting of usages that extend the meaning to include large-scale destruction other than killing, as in The supply of fresh produce was decimated by the nuclear accident at Chernobyl. Some 36 percent accepted this sentence in 2005, up from 26 percent in 1988, but still a decided minority.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

decimation - destroying or killing a large part of the population (literally every tenth person as chosen by lot) destruction, devastation - the termination of something by causing so much damage to it that it cannot be repaired or no longer exists

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

Translations

قَتْل عَدَد كَبيرٍ من

decimování

decimeringudtynding

Dezimierung

décimation

megtizedelés

stórfellt mannfall

decimazione

desimeringstort mannefall

decimovanie

imhakatliam

大批杀死大量毁灭

decimation

[ˌdesɪˈmeɪʃən] N (lit, fig) → aniquilación f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

decimation

[ˌdɛsɪˈmeɪʃ^ən] n

(= destruction) [forests, animals, people] → destruction f

(= massive reduction) [system, organization] → décimation f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

decimate

(ˈdesimeit) verb

(of disease, battle etc) to reduce greatly in number. The population was decimated by the plague. uitdun, afmaai, wegmaai يُهْلِكُ عَددا كَبيرا من покосявам dizimar decimovat, pustošit dezimieren decimere; tynde ud αποδεκατίζωdiezmar suuresti vähendama تلفات سنگین وارد کردن؛ لت و پار کردن hävittää décimer לְהָשמִיד חֶלֶק נִיכָּר बड़ी संख्या में मारना decimalna frakcija (meg)tizedel mengurangi fækka stórlega decimare 多数を殺す 많은 사람을 죽이다 smarkiai/dešimt kartų sumažinti masveidā iznīcināt musnah satu persepuluh decimerentynne ut, redusere sterkt zdziesiątkować لسمه برخه اخيستل يا ايستل، هر لسم سړى وژل، لويه برخه ځنى تلف كول dizimar a decima истреблять decimovať zdesetkati desetkovati decimera ลดจำนวนลง kırıp geçirmek, büyük bir kısmını yoketmek 大量毀滅(因疾病或戰爭) косити; пустошити بھاری تخفیف کرنا sát hại nhiều 大批杀死（或毁坏）

ˌdeciˈmation noun

desimering, uitdunning قَتْل عَدَد كَبيرٍ من покосяване dizimação decimování die Dezimierung decimering; udtynding αποδεκατισμός reducción catastrófica, acción de diezmar suur vähenemine تلفات زیاد hävitys décimation הָשמָדָה שֶׁל הָחֶלֶק הַעִיקָרִי नाश desetkovati megtizedelés pengurangan stórfellt mannfall decimazione 激減 대량 살해 sumažinimas masveida iznīcināšana pemusnahan ini decimering stort mannefall, desimering zdziesiątkowanie چاودونکی dizimação decimare истребление decimovanie zdesetkanje desetkovanje decimering การลดจำนวนลง imha, katliam 大量毀滅 спустошення بھاری تخفیف sự tiêu hao 大批杀死，大量毁灭

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

decimation

n. gran mortalidad, diezma.

English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012