decimate

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“
Gorillas can't really do much if a human being has decided to decimate or to kill the gorillas.

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Definitions (11)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (5)

  1. transitive verb To destroy or kill a large part of (a group).
  2. transitive verb Usage Problem To inflict great destruction or damage on: The fawns decimated my rose bushes.
  3. transitive verb Usage Problem To reduce markedly in amount: a profligate heir who decimated his trust fund.
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Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (3)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

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Examples

  • Knowing how your father got into trouble with his drinking, I was ... afraid you were going to follow in his footsteps. —  Undercover Vows
  • Their disputes generally ended in draws, but he was used to decimating his opponents thoroughly and failing to decimate her with words, he had sought other means. —  In the Presence of the Enemy
  • Gorillas can't really do much if a human being has decided to decimate or to kill the gorillas. —  CNN Transcript Aug 12, 2007
  • Gorillas can ` t really do much if a human being has decided to decimate or to kill the gorillas. —  CNN Transcript Jun 19, 2007
  • (They would certainly be incorrect if they did that, for decimate is a verb, not a noun, and cannot mean "the killing ...." —  VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol IX No 2
 

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Decimate has been looked up 394 times, favorited once, listed 26 times, and commented on 7 times.

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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Latin decimāre, decimāt-, to punish every tenth person, from decimus, tenth, from decem, ten; see dekm̥ in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Latin decimatus, past participle of decimare (later F. décimer = Spanish (obsolete) Portuguese decimar = Italian decimare = Dutch decimeren = German decimiren = Danish decimere = Swedish decimera), select the tenth by lot (for punishment), pay tithes, from decimus, tenth: see decimal.
 

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/ˈdɛsɪmeɪt/
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