What does decimated mean?
"Decimated" is the past tense and past participle of the verb "decimate," meaning to kill, destroy, or drastically reduce a large proportion of something—a population, an army, a wildlife species, or even a budget. The word derives from the Latin decimare, referring to the harsh Roman military practice of executing one man in every ten as collective punishment. Over centuries its meaning broadened from this precise ratio to any severe reduction in numbers, and today it is used widely, if somewhat loosely, in journalism and everyday writing: crops are decimated by drought, teams by injuries, industries by recession. Because some purists still insist on the older sense of "one in ten," careful writers reserve "decimated" for substantial numerical loss rather than total annihilation, where words like "devastated" or "destroyed" fit better. Its vivid history and precise core make it a powerful word for conveying large-scale destruction.
verbPast tense and past participle of "decimate": to kill, destroy, or remove a large proportion of something, such as a population, army, or species. In its strict original sense it meant to kill one in every ten of a group as a punishment.
- To kill, destroy, or drastically reduce a large proportion of a group, population, or thing.
- (Strictly historical) To kill one in every ten members of a group, especially as a military punishment in the Roman army.
"The epidemic decimated the island's population within a single decade."
"The war decimated the country's young male population."
"The general ordered that the mutinous legion be decimated, as Roman law prescribed."
Roman legions punished cowardice by killing every tenth soldier—the brutal origin of the word we now use for sports teams and bee populations.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of decimated
Decimated comes from the Latin decimare, meaning "to take a tenth," itself derived from decimus, "tenth," from decem, "ten." The verb entered English in the early 17th century, initially retaining its literal sense of executing one in every ten soldiers as punishment. By the 19th century its meaning had loosened to denote killing or destroying a large proportion of anything, a shift that remains mildly controversial among usage traditionalists. It shares its root with related English words built on the same Latin stem, including decimal, decimate, and decennial.
Related word forms
How decimated is actually used
Widely used to mean "greatly reduced or destroyed," though some traditionalists object when it is applied to things other than groups or numbers. The word carries a serious, often grim connotation; it is common in journalism and historical writing rather than casual speech.
Easily confused with decimated
"Devastated" implies complete or overwhelming destruction, while "decimated" traditionally means destruction of a large proportion—originally exactly one in ten.