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View synonyms for decimation

decimation

[ des-uh-mey-shuhn ]

noun

  1. the destruction of a great number or proportion of people, animals, or things:

    There is growing evidence that pesticide use is contributing significantly to the decimation of bee populations.

  2. the act or practice of killing one-tenth of a population, as a punishment, to cull wild animals, or for other purposes:

    The Roman Empire used decimation, executing 1 in 10 people—ordinary citizens, slaves, or soldiers—to quell mutinies, riots, and other uprisings.



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Word History and Origins

Origin of decimation1

First recorded in 1450–1500, for an earlier sense; from Latin decimātiōn-, stem of decimātiō “a punishing of every tenth man”; decimate ( def ), -ion ( def )

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Example Sentences

As this pandemic continues to decimate the livelihoods of countless independent musicians, Swift has sold more albums inside this calendar year than anyone else on Earth.

With the pandemic decimating ridership and fare revenue, the agency is looking to cut one-quarter of its $2 billion in annual operating expenses from next year’s budget.

From coast to coast, transit agencies are planning for layoffs and pared-down service as the coronavirus pandemic decimates budgets and a federal stimulus package remains stalled in Congress.

In the past six months, companies ranging from Uber to NBCUniversal to Boeing have laid off employees, as industry after industry has been decimated.

From Ozy

Free sampling — an age-old marketing tactic — has been decimated by store closures and lockdown mandates from coronavirus.

From Digiday

But the site has seen little of the decimation from heavy tourism that has plagued the northern pyramids of Giza in Egypt.

In Texas, the grave consequences of the decimation of state family-planning funds in 2011 are already evident.

The Shirt-tail battalion and the bluegrass battalion stood in peril of decimation in their maiden engagement.

The Texans in their escape and conflicts had lost five men, and Santa Anna demanded the decimation of the rest.

It is only because of the large families that they rear, that they are able to withstand this yearly decimation of their ranks.

We should not be surprised if at least one part of the mysterious decimation turned out to be an early act of beneficial hidation.

Sometimes the inroads of tigers cause the abandonment of an entire village, the natives preferring exile to gradual decimation.

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decimateddécime