DECIMATION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does decimation mean? 

• DECIMATION (noun)
  The noun DECIMATION has 1 sense:

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

  Familiarity information: DECIMATION used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DECIMATION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("decimation" is a kind of...):

destruction; devastation (the termination of something by causing so much damage to it that it cannot be repaired or no longer exists)

Derivation:

decimate (kill in large numbers)

 Context examples 

But its production has been linked to large-scale destruction of pristine forests and the decimation of orangutan populations.

(Greener palm oil possible without sacrificing profit, SciDev.Net)