English Dictionary

DECIMATE

Pronunciation (US): Play  (GB): Play

IPA (US): 

 Dictionary entry overview: What does decimate mean? 

DECIMATE (verb)
  The verb DECIMATE has 2 senses:

1. kill one in every ten, as of mutineers in Roman armiesplay

2. kill in large numbersplay

  Familiarity information: DECIMATE used as a verb is rare.


 Dictionary entry details 


DECIMATE (verb)

 Conjugation: 
Present simple: I / you / we / they decimate  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation ... he / she / it decimates  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation
Past simple: decimated  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation
Past participle: decimated  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation
-ing form: decimating  Listen to US pronunciation  Listen to GB pronunciation


Sense 1

Meaning:

Kill one in every ten, as of mutineers in Roman armies

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "decimate" is one way to...):

kill (cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly)

Verb group:

annihilate; carry off; decimate; eliminate; eradicate; extinguish; wipe out (kill in large numbers)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody


Sense 2

Meaning:

Kill in large numbers

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

annihilate; carry off; decimate; eliminate; eradicate; extinguish; wipe out

Context example:

the plague wiped out an entire population

Hypernyms (to "decimate" is one way to...):

kill (cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly)

Verb group:

decimate (kill one in every ten, as of mutineers in Roman armies)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

decimation (destroying or killing a large part of the population (literally every tenth person as chosen by lot))


 Context examples 


That keeps seagrasses — which grazers like dugongs and other marine animals eat — from being decimated.

(Sharks, the seagrass protectors, National Science Foundation)



 Learn English with... Proverbs 
"The nail that sticks out gets pounded." (English proverb)

"The more cowherds there are, the worse the cows are looked after" (Breton proverb)

"Meaningless laughter is a sign of ill-breeding." (Arabic proverb)

"If someone isn't handsome by nature, it's useless for them to wash over and over again." (Corsican proverb)



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