Meaning & use
Decimated
Last updated
drastically reduced in number or destroyed a large proportion of something.
See it in a sentence
The disease decimated the region's deer population within a few years.
The recession decimated small businesses across the country.
A note on using this word
Originally referred to the Roman military punishment of killing one in every ten soldiers; modern usage broadly means severe destruction, not exactly one-tenth.
Words with a similar meaning
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Words with an opposite meaning
restoredrebuilt
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