Decimate does not mean to completely destroy or anything close to it. The important part of the word is ‘deci-‘, which means ten or tenth. To decimate is to reduce by 10%.
Decimate (5/10)
Rex Trulove
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I see you point since I am kind of a math freak.
Did not know this one either, I thought it meant completely destroy!
I knew this one! Great addition to the list
I hear decimate used incorrectly probably once a week. Last year when we had all the forest fires in Montana, there were several different news stories by different people that mentioned how one fire or another had decimated the forest. In most cases, they meant ‘destroyed’.
The deci part sells it for me.
Most people don’t even think about that part of the word. :))