- decimate
- verb /ˈdɛ.sɪ.meɪt,ˈdɛ.sə.meɪt/a) To kill one man chosen by lot out of every ten in a legion or other military group.b) To reduce anything by one in ten, or ten percent.See Also: decimation
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decimate
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Decimate — Dec i*mate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Decimated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Decimating}.] [L. decimatus, p. p. of decimare to decimate (in senses 1 & 2), fr. decimus tenth. See {Decimal}.] 1. To take the tenth part of; to tithe. Johnson. [1913 Webster] 2. To… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
decimate — has changed its meaning because the old one is no longer needed. Historically, decimate means ‘to kill one person in ten’, and had its origin in military punishments. As the need for this meaning diminished, a new one emerged, the now familiar… … Modern English usage
decimate — ► VERB 1) kill or destroy a large proportion of. 2) drastically reduce the strength of. DERIVATIVES decimation noun. USAGE The earliest sense of decimate was ‘kill one in every ten of’, a reference to the ancient Roman practice of killing one in… … English terms dictionary
decimate — index destroy (efface), diminish, disarm (divest of arms), eliminate (eradicate), lessen, minimize … Law dictionary
decimate — c.1600, in reference to the practice of punishing mutinous military units by capital execution of one in every 10, by lot; from L. decimatus, pp. of decimare (see DECIMATION (Cf. decimation)). Killing one in ten, chosen by lots, from a rebellious … Etymology dictionary
decimate — [v] destroy annihilate, butcher*, commit genocide, execute, exterminate, kill off, massacre, obliterate, slaughter, stamp out, wipe out; concept 252 … New thesaurus
decimate — [des′ə māt΄] vt. decimated, decimating [< L decimatus, pp. of decimare < decem, TEN] 1. Obs. to select by lot and kill every tenth one of 2. to destroy or kill a large part of [famine decimated the population] 3. Obs. to take a tenth part… … English World dictionary
decimate — [[t]de̱sɪmeɪt[/t]] decimates, decimating, decimated 1) VERB To decimate something such as a group of people or animals means to destroy a very large number of them. [V n] The pollution could decimate the river s thriving population of kingfishers … English dictionary
decimate — decimation, n. decimator, n. /des euh mayt /, v.t., decimated, decimating. 1. to destroy a great number or proportion of: The population was decimated by a plague. 2. to select by lot and kill every tenth person of. 3. Obs. to take a tenth of or… … Universalium
decimate — verb Decimate is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑injury Decimate is used with these nouns as the object: ↑army … Collocations dictionary
decimate — UK [ˈdesɪmeɪt] / US [ˈdesɪˌmeɪt] verb [transitive] Word forms decimate : present tense I/you/we/they decimate he/she/it decimates present participle decimating past tense decimated past participle decimated to spoil or destroy something, for… … English dictionary
