Decimate

/ˈdɛsɪmeɪt/ · verb

Meaning

(archaic) To kill one-tenth of (a group), (historical, specifically) as a military punishment in the Roman army selected by lot, usually carried out by the surviving soldiers..

Definitions by Sense

1. (archaic) To kill one-tenth of (a group), (historical, specifically) as a military punishment in the Roman army selected by lot, usually carried out by the surviving soldiers.
2. To destroy or remove one-tenth of (something).
3. (loosely) To devastate: to reduce or destroy significantly but not completely.
4. (obsolete) To exact a tithe or other 10% tax.
5. (obsolete, rare) To tithe: to pay a 10% tax.
6. (obsolete) To divide into tenths; to decimalize.
7. (proscribed) To reduce to one-tenth: to destroy or remove nine-tenths of (something).
8. (computer graphics) To replace (a high-resolution model) with another of lower but acceptable quality. (Usually algorithmically)

Example Sentences

God sometimes decimates or tithes delinquent persons, and they died for a common crime, according as God hath cast their lot in the decrees of predestination.

Said to have been martyred as a Christian legionary commander of late Roman times for having refused an imperial order to kill one in ten (that is, decimate in the Roman meaning of the word) of the soldiers of another legion which had gone into revolt...

...where Caesar threatened to disband Legio X after a mutiny. The men begged him to decimate them instead, and Caesar relented in the same way that Titus refrained from executing this cavalryman after his comrades’ appeal.

Shall we decimate them? That sounds good, nice word. Remove one-tenth of the population!

...there will be eight hundred and ten laborers producing as nine hundred, while, to accomplish their purpose, they would have to produce as one thousand... Here, then, we have a society which is continually decimating itself...

Um, some sort of power overload. I'm afraid it decimated your breakfast.

[England] had decimated itself for a question which involved no principle, and led to no result.

They can be devastating to certain plants if left uncontrolled: a downy mildew of grapes decimated European vineyards during the nineteenth century.

Synonyms for decimate

Antonyms for decimate

Related Words

Word Forms

• decimates
• decimating
• decimated

Usage Notes

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