Decimate — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

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

kill in large numbers

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/dɪsɪlˈuːʒənˌaɪz/

🇬🇧British English

/dˈɛsɪmˌeɪt/

🇮🇳Indian English

/dˈɛsɪmˌeɪt/

3 syllables Say it as /dɪsɪlˈuːʒənˌaɪz/.

Examples

the plague wiped out an entire population

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

wipe out eliminate carry off eradicate annihilate extinguish

Parts of Speech

verb	kill one in every ten, as of mutineers in Roman armies
verb	kill in large numbers “the plague wiped out an entire population”

Word Forms

annihilative	adjective	wreaking or capable of wreaking complete destruction
annihilation	noun	total destruction
annihilator	noun	a total destroyer
extinction	noun	complete annihilation
wipeout	noun	an event (or the result of an event) that completely destroys something
decimation	noun	destroying or killing a large part of the population (literally every tenth person as chosen by lot)

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

dezimieren

Töte jeden zehnten Meuterer in römischen Armeen

🇫🇷French

décimer

en tuer un sur dix, comme parmi les mutins des armées romaines

🇪🇸Spanish

diezmar

matar a uno de cada diez, como ocurre con los amotinados en los ejércitos romanos

🇮🇹Italian

decimare

ucciderne uno su dieci, come gli ammutinati degli eserciti romani

🇳🇱Dutch

decimeren

dood één op de tien, net als bij muiters in Romeinse legers

🇵🇹Portuguese

dizimar

matar um em cada dez, como acontece com os amotinados dos exércitos romanos

🇷🇺Russian

опустошать

убить одного из десяти, как мятежников в римских армиях

India

🇮🇳Hindi

तबाह

हर दस में से एक को मार डालो, जैसे कि रोमन सेनाओं में विद्रोहियों को

🇧🇩Bengali

ধ্বংস

রোমান সেনাবাহিনীতে বিদ্রোহীদের হিসাবে প্রতি দশজনের একজনকে হত্যা করে

🇮🇳Tamil

அழிக்கவும்

ரோமானியப் படைகளில் கலகக்காரர்களைப் போல ஒவ்வொரு பத்தில் ஒருவரைக் கொல்வார்கள்

🇮🇳Telugu

క్షీణించు

రోమన్ సైన్యంలోని తిరుగుబాటుదారుల వలె ప్రతి పదిమందిలో ఒకరిని చంపండి

🇮🇳Marathi

नाश

रोमन सैन्यातील बंडखोरांप्रमाणे प्रत्येक दहापैकी एकाला मारणे

🇮🇳Gujarati

નાશ

રોમન સૈન્યમાં બળવાખોરોની જેમ દર દસમાંથી એકને મારી નાખો

🇮🇳Kannada

ದಶಮಾಂಶ

ರೋಮನ್ ಸೈನ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ದಂಗೆಕೋರರಂತೆ ಪ್ರತಿ ಹತ್ತರಲ್ಲಿ ಒಬ್ಬನನ್ನು ಕೊಲ್ಲು

🇮🇳Malayalam

ദശാംശം

റോമൻ സൈന്യത്തിലെ കലാപകാരികളെപ്പോലെ ഓരോ പത്തിലൊരാളെയും കൊല്ലുക

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਤਬਾਹੀ

ਹਰ ਦਸਾਂ ਵਿੱਚੋਂ ਇੱਕ ਨੂੰ ਮਾਰੋ, ਜਿਵੇਂ ਕਿ ਰੋਮਨ ਫ਼ੌਜਾਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਵਿਦਰੋਹੀਆਂ ਨੇ

🇵🇰Urdu

ختم کرنا

ہر دس میں سے ایک کو مار ڈالو، جیسا کہ رومن فوجوں میں بغاوت کرنے والوں کا تھا۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

消灭

杀死十分之一的罗马军队叛变者

🇯🇵Japanese

間引きます

ローマ軍の反逆者として、10人に1人を殺す

🇰🇷Korean

대량 학살하다

로마 군대의 반란군처럼 10명 중 1명을 죽인다

🇻🇳Vietnamese

tàn sát

giết một trong mười người, như những kẻ nổi loạn trong quân đội La Mã

🇹🇭Thai

ทำลายล้าง

ฆ่าหนึ่งในทุกๆ สิบ เช่นเดียวกับผู้ก่อการกบฏในกองทัพโรมัน

🇮🇩Indonesian

mengurangi

membunuh satu dari setiap sepuluh, seperti halnya pemberontak di tentara Romawi

🇵🇭Filipino

magwasak

pumatay ng isa sa bawat sampu, gaya ng mga mutineer sa hukbong Romano

🇲🇾Malay

memusnahkan

membunuh satu daripada setiap sepuluh, seperti pemberontak dalam tentera Rom

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

أهلك

يقتلون واحدًا من كل عشرة، كما يفعل المتمردون في الجيوش الرومانية

🇮🇷Persian

از بین بردن

از هر ده نفر یک نفر را بکشند، مانند شورشیان در ارتش روم

🇹🇷Turkish

yok etmek

Roma ordularındaki isyancılar arasında her on kişiden birini öldürün

🇮🇱Hebrew

להכחיד

להרוג אחד מכל עשרה, כמו ממורדים בצבאות רומא

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'decimate'?

The primary meaning of 'decimate' is 'kill one in every ten, as of mutineers in Roman armies'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'decimate' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'decimate' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'decimate' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'decimate' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'decimate' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'decimate' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'decimate' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'decimate' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'decimate' in a professional email?

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Never

Would you classify 'decimate' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

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