'Decimate' definitions:
Definition of 'decimate'
(from WordNet)
verb
Kill one in every ten, as of mutineers in Roman armies
verb
Kill in large numbers; "the plague wiped out an entire population" [syn: eliminate, annihilate, extinguish, eradicate, wipe out, decimate, carry off]
Definition of 'Decimate'
From: GCIDE
- 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 select by lot and punish with death every tenth man of; as, to decimate a regiment as a punishment for mutiny. --Macaulay. [1913 Webster]
- 3. To destroy a considerable part of; as, to decimate an army in battle; to decimate a people by disease. [1913 Webster]
Synonyms of 'decimate'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- annihilate,
- bring to ruin,
- butcher,
- commit carnage,
- commit genocide,
- commit mass murder,
- condemn,
- confound,
- consume,
- damn,
- deal destruction,
- demolish,
- depopulate,
- depredate,
- desolate,
- despoil,
- destroy,
- devastate,
- devour,
- dissolve,
- engorge,
- exterminate,
- gobble,
- gobble up,
- gut,
- gut with fire,
- havoc,
- incinerate,
- lay in ruins,
- lay waste,
- massacre,
- murder wholesale,
- ravage,
- raze,
- ruin,
- ruinate,
- shipwreck,
- slaughter,
- slay en masse,
- swallow up,
- throw into disorder,
- unbuild,
- undo,
- unleash destruction,
- unleash the hurricane,
- unmake,
- upheave,
- vandalize,
- vaporize,
- waste,
- wipe out,
- wrack,
- wreak havoc,
- wreck
Words containing 'Decimate'
- Decimal,
- Decimalization,
- Decimalize,
- Decimally,
- Decimated,
- Decimating,
- Decimation,
- Decimator,
- decimalism,
- Circulating decimal,
- Circulatory decimal,
- Decimal arithmetic,
- Decimal fraction,
- Decimal point,
- Recurring decimal,
- Repeating decimal,
- decimal candle,
- decimal digit,
- decimal notation,
- decimal system,
- decimal number system,
- decimal numeration system,
- decimal system of classification,
- dewey decimal classification,
- dewey decimal system