Definition, Meaning & Synonyms

decimator

noun

/ˈdɛs.ɪˌmeɪ.tər/

Definition

A person or thing that severely reduces or destroys a large portion of something.

Examples

The hurricane was a decimator of the coastal towns, leaving a path of devastation in its wake.
In the war, the disease acted as a decimator, claiming more lives than the actual battles.
The new technology served as a decimator of traditional methods, changing the landscape of the industry.

Meaning

The term decimator originally referred to a Roman military practice of punishing soldiers by killing one in every ten men (from the Latin ‘decimare’). In modern usage, it describes anything that causes substantial destruction or reduction.