Transcription
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
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- [des-uh-meyt]
- /ˈdɛs əˌmeɪt/
- /des.ɪˈmeɪ.ʃən/
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
-
- [des-uh-meyt]
- /ˈdɛs əˌmeɪt/
Definitions of decimation word
- verb with object decimation to destroy a great number or proportion of: The population was decimated by a plague. 1
- verb with object decimation to select by lot and kill every tenth person of. 1
- verb with object decimation Obsolete. to take a tenth of or from. 1
- noun decimation The earliest English sense of decimate is “to select by lot and execute every tenth soldier of (a unit).” The extended sense “destroy a great number or proportion of” developed in the 19th century: Cholera decimated the urban population. Because the etymological sense of one-tenth remains to some extent, decimate is not ordinarily used with exact fractions or percentages: Drought has destroyed (not decimated) nearly 80 percent of the cattle. 1
- noun decimation The killing or destruction of a large portion of a population. 1
- noun decimation killing 10 percent of a population 1
Information block about the term
Origin of decimation
First appearance:
before 1590 One of the 37% oldest English words
1590-1600; < Latin decimātus, past participle of decimāre “to punish every tenth man chosen by lot,” verbal derivative of decimus “tenth,” derivative of decem ten; see -ate1
Historical Comparancy
Parts of speech for Decimation
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
decimation popularity
A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 66% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.
This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.
decimation usage trend in Literature
This diagram is provided by Google Ngram ViewerSynonyms for decimation
noun decimation
- annihilation — the act of annihilating
- devastation — Devastation is severe and widespread destruction or damage.
- cataclysm — A cataclysm is an event that causes great change or harm.
- catastrophe — A catastrophe is an unexpected event that causes great suffering or damage.
- holocaust — a great or complete devastation or destruction, especially by fire.
Antonyms for decimation
noun decimation
- happiness — the quality or state of being happy.
- miracle — an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause.
- wonder — to think or speculate curiously: to wonder about the origin of the solar system.
- building — A building is a structure that has a roof and walls, for example a house or a factory.
- construction — Construction is the building of things such as houses, factories, roads, and bridges.
Top questions with decimation
- what is decimation?
See also
Matching words
- Words starting with d
- Words starting with de
- Words starting with dec
- Words starting with deci
- Words starting with decim
- Words starting with decima
- Words starting with decimat
- Words starting with decimati
- Words starting with decimatio
- Words starting with decimation