decimate

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Investors have also been piling into bond markets on fears that AI advances will decimate the job market, while hotter-than-expected producer prices have clouded hopes for Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 28, 2026

The departures could decimate an office already struggling to deal with the surge in immigration enforcement, said B. Todd Jones, a former U.S. attorney for Minnesota.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 13, 2026

While California’s forests are adapted for frequent, low-intensity fires that clear out the forest floors and promote regeneration, high-intensity flames can decimate ecosystems so much so that they may never recover.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 21, 2025

Generalist creatures, those that can thrive in a variety of environments, will most easily adapt to city life and may go on to decimate native species.

From Salon • Jun. 15, 2025

To decimate once meant “to slaughter every tenth one,” although it’s rarely used literally these days.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner