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Antonyms for decimate

Grammar : Verb
Spell : des-uh-meyt
Phonetic Transcription : ˈdɛs əˌmeɪt

Definition of decimate

Origin :
  • c.1600, in reference to the practice of punishing mutinous military units by capital execution of one in every 10, by lot; from Latin decimatus, past participle of decimare (see decimation). Killing one in ten, chosen by lots, from a rebellious city or a mutinous army was a common punishment in classical times. The word has been used (incorrectly, to the irritation of pedants) since 1660s for "destroy a large portion of." Related: Decimated; decimating.
  • verb destroy
Example sentences :
  • You meant to let the royal blood, and to decimate the nobility of France.
  • Extract from : « The Works of Honor de Balzac » by Honor de Balzac
  • These are the dreaded wild dogs which decimate the game in the jungle.
  • Extract from : « Life in an Indian Outpost » by Gordon Casserly
  • You wish to shed royal blood and to decimate the nobility of the kingdom, do you?
  • Extract from : « Catherine de' Medici » by Honore de Balzac
  • If he caught them on the steep ice between the two cedar clumps he could decimate them with ease.
  • Extract from : « The Tree of Appomattox » by Joseph A. Altsheler
  • Absolute principles create division, and inspire the temptation to decimate, to expel, to kill enemies.
  • Extract from : « English Conferences of Ernest Renan » by Ernest Renan
  • There is a report, also, that the Government mean to decimate the cowards who ran away yesterday, pour encourager les autres.
  • Extract from : « Diary of the Besieged Resident in Paris » by Henry Labouchre
  • Cruelty and cunning could not retain them, but it could decimate a population and lose an army in the attempt.
  • Extract from : « The Expositor's Bible: The Book of Exodus » by G. A. Chadwick
  • Suddenly a terrible plague broke out in the city, and threatened to decimate the population.
  • Extract from : « The Catholic World. Volume III; Numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. » by E. Rameur
  • Decimate (decimo, from decem, ten, in Latin) was to take for death every tenth man of a body that had behaved very badly.
  • Extract from : « An Outline of English Speech-craft » by William Barnes
  • The weasel, the owl, and the cat—the terrible cat—are appointed to decimate the population of birds.
  • Extract from : « In the Open » by Stanton Davis Kirkham

Synonyms for decimate

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019