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.
2. To select by lot and punish with death every tenth man of; as, to decimate a regiment as a punishment for mutiny. --Macaulay.
3. To destroy a considerable part of; as, to decimate an army in battle; to decimate a people by disease.
But, he added, "Force will be used against those miners who do not leave the area immediately." Environmentalists warn the miners will spill off into Indian reservations in neighboring Amazon states and decimate other tribes.
Tongue-Tried We're going to suffer quite awhile With "arguably," I fear; And "decimate," I'm sad to state, Grates constantly on the ear.
Environmentalists say the huge nets trap virtually everything they cover and could decimate marine life.
Wu'er described to Le Monde the June 4 scene: "I saw the army arrive with rifles in the northern sector of the square and, row by row, decimate the students.
Adult moths do not damage corn, but lay eggs in fields that hatch and can decimate crops.
"It's an attempt to decimate Eastern's cockpit crews," says Jack Bavis, head of the airline's pilots union.
The villagers fear that oil development might decimate the herd or disrupt its migration.