The correct answer is (D) To destroy a large part of; to destroy a great proportion or number or. To take a tenth of, or from. To destroy one tenth; to put to death one tenth. (A Roman punishment for mutinous or cowardly soldiers was to execute every tenth soldier in the mutinous legion. These soldiers were selected by lot and then killed.)

Decimate comes from Latin decimus (tenth).

Examples of use:

• The population of the country was decimated by the AIDS virus.
• The dolphins decimated the school of fish.