Forced to deploy infantry without armor support in Kharkiv Oblast, Russian commanders sacrificed hundreds of soldiers in open-field assaults against well-prepared Ukrainian positions with FPV drones.
The word ‘decimates’ means to eliminate 10%. So if used correctly, it means that 30 to 40 Russians were killed. The word is hardly ever used correctly.
That may have been the original definition, but words evolve. One of the definitions from the Merriam-Webster dictionary is ‘to cause great destruction or harm to’. So it is used correctly by modern definitions.
To destroy or kill a large part of (a group of people or organisms).
To inflict great destruction or damage on.
“The storm decimated the region.”
To reduce markedly in amount.
“a profligate heir who decimated his trust fund.”
While some of the other definitions are “to take a tenth of” or “one out of every ten”, the top three are usually the most common usage of the word in modern times.
300 to 400 soldiers.
Typical Russian battalion is 600 to 800.
The word ‘decimates’ means to eliminate 10%. So if used correctly, it means that 30 to 40 Russians were killed. The word is hardly ever used correctly.
That may have been the original definition, but words evolve. One of the definitions from the Merriam-Webster dictionary is ‘to cause great destruction or harm to’. So it is used correctly by modern definitions.
Let’s still be considerate to those time traveling from the Roman Empire.
decimate /dĕs′ə-māt″/
transitive verb
To destroy or kill a large part of (a group of people or organisms).
To inflict great destruction or damage on.
“The storm decimated the region.”
To reduce markedly in amount.
“a profligate heir who decimated his trust fund.”
While some of the other definitions are “to take a tenth of” or “one out of every ten”, the top three are usually the most common usage of the word in modern times.
A professional journalist should know it, though.
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It’s not a correction though, it’s misplaced pedantry. The modern definition does not match the roman practice.