Synonyms for decimate
Most common
All synonyms
Verb
1. Devastate
devastate, annihilate, kill, eliminate, eradicate, wipe out, carry off, extinguish, exterminate
Other
reduce, tenth, decimalize, decimalise UK, tithe dated
Definitions
- v. 1
To destroy or remove one-tenth of (something).
Related words
- Word family
- decimator decimation
Forms
- Past participle
- decimated
e.g. decimated → devastated, annihilated, killed, eliminated…
Example sentences
- kill He tried to kill himself because he lost her love.
- eliminate Algeria needs to eliminate its endemic corruption.
- annihilate We shall annihilate anyone who stands in our way!
- devastate The flood waters will devastate the nearby town.
- tenth This song comes down to us from the tenth century.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| decimate | rising | |
| kill | rising | |
| eliminate | falling | |
| annihilate | rising | |
| devastate | rising | |
| tenth | falling |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- kill1
- 5 letters
- tenth1, tithe1
- 6 letters
- reduce2
- 9 letters
- eliminate4, eradicate4, devastate3
- 10 letters
- extinguish3, annihilate4, decimalize, decimalise
- 11 letters
- exterminate4
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (reduce2 = 2 syllables).