decimate (redirected from decimating)

dec·i·mate  (ds-mt)

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

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

2. Usage Problem

a. To inflict great destruction or damage on: The fawns decimated my rose bushes.

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.

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[Latin decimre, decimt-, to punish every tenth person, from decimus, tenth, from decem, ten; see dek in Indo-European roots.]

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deci·mation 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 group. Sixty-six 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. However, when the meaning is further extended to include large-scale destruction other than killing, as in The supply of fresh produce was decimated by the nuclear accident at Chernobyl, only 26 percent of the Panel accepts the usage.

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decimate

Verb

[-mating, -mated] to destroy or kill a large proportion of [Latin decimare]

decimation n

USAGE: You would talk about the whole of something being decimated, not a part: disease decimated the population, not disease decimated most of the population.

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	decimate - kill one in every ten, as of mutineers in Roman armies annihilate, eradicate, wipe out, decimate, eliminate, carry off, extinguish - kill in large numbers; "the plague wiped out an entire population" kill - cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly; "This man killed several people when he tried to rob a bank"; "The farmer killed a pig for the holidays"
	2.	decimate - kill in large numbers; "the plague wiped out an entire population" annihilate, eradicate, wipe out, carry off, eliminate, extinguish decimate - kill one in every ten, as of mutineers in Roman armies kill - cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly; "This man killed several people when he tried to rob a bank"; "The farmer killed a pig for the holidays"

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decimate

verb destroy, devastate, wipe out, ravage, eradicate, annihilate, put paid to, lay waste, wreak havoc on

USAGE This word, which comes from Latin, originally referred to the slaughtering of one in ten soldiers, a practice of the army of Ancient Rome. In current language, however, the meaning of the word has broadened and it is now used not only to describe the destruction of people and animals, but also of institutions: overseas visitors will stay away in droves, decimating the tourist industry. Synonyms such as destroy (for sense 1) and reduce (for sense 2) are appropriate alternatives.

Translations

decimate [ˈdɛsɪmeɪt] vt → diezmar

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decimate [ˈdɛsɪmeɪt] vt → décimer

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decimate [ˈdɛsɪmeɪt] vt → dezimieren

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decimate [ˈdɛsɪmeɪt] vt → decimare