BaanWords

decimate

ทำลายเกือบหมด - Thai translation

Main Translations

Explore the primary and secondary translations of "decimate," a word often associated with severe destruction or reduction, along with their phonetic pronunciations and nuanced explanations.

  • English: Decimate
  • Thai: ทำลายเกือบหมด (Tham-rai keub mot)
  • Phonetic: Tum-rye kub mot (pronounced with a rising tone on "tum" and a falling tone on "mot")
  • Detailed Explanation: The term "decimate" originally derives from Latin and refers to reducing something by a tenth, but in modern English usage, it implies destroying or severely damaging a large portion of something, often leaving it weakened or nearly ruined. Usage scenarios include military contexts (e.g., decimating enemy forces), environmental disasters (e.g., decimating wildlife), or economic downturns (e.g., decimating markets). Emotional connotations are predominantly negative, evoking feelings of loss, tragedy, or catastrophe. Semantic nuances highlight exaggeration; while it doesn't mean total destruction, it emphasizes significant impact. For SEO purposes, this word is commonly searched in contexts like "decimate meaning in history" or "decimate in business."
  • Thai: ลดจำนวนลงอย่างมาก (Lod jang-wad long yang maak)
  • Phonetic: Lod jung-wut long yang maak (pronounced with a mid-tone on "lod" and a high tone on "maak")
  • Detailed Explanation: This secondary translation is more literal and focuses on a drastic reduction in quantity or scale, such as in populations, resources, or opportunities. Usage scenarios might include everyday discussions about economic crises (e.g., reducing jobs) or natural events (e.g., affecting agriculture). Emotional connotations are neutral to negative, depending on context, and often carry a sense of inevitability or helplessness. Semantic nuances differentiate it from complete annihilation, making it suitable for scenarios where partial survival is implied, such as in "decimate in Thai culture" or environmental reports.

Overview of Usage Scenarios

"Decimate" is primarily used as a verb in English to describe situations involving severe reduction or destruction, often in formal or serious contexts like military history, environmental issues, or economic analyses. In Thai, translations like "ทำลายเกือบหมด" are employed in similar scenarios, emphasizing dramatic loss. Common usage includes historical events (e.g., wars), natural disasters, business failures, and social impacts. For SEO, key searches include "decimate usage in sentences" and "decimate examples in Thai," highlighting its versatility across formal writing, news reports, and casual discussions.

Example Sentences

Example Sentences in Different Scenarios

Business Scenario

  • English: The economic recession decimated the company's profits, forcing layoffs across all departments.
  • Thai: การชะลอตัวทางเศรษฐกิจได้ทำลายเกือบหมดกำไรของบริษัท ทำให้ต้องปลดพนักงานในทุกแผนก (Kan cha-lao tua thang set-sa-kit dai tham-rai keub mot gam-rai khor bor-ri-sat, tam yang tong plaed pan-na-gan nai took paen-garn).
  • Grammatical Breakdown: "Decimated" is the past tense of the transitive verb "decimate," with "the economic recession" as the subject and "the company's profits" as the direct object. Words like "forcing" indicate a consequential clause.
  • Structural Analysis: This sentence follows a subject-verb-object structure with a subordinate clause for cause and effect, common in business writing. It uses "decimate" to convey severe impact, enhancing SEO for "decimate in business scenarios."

Leisure Scenario

  • English: The wildfire decimated the national park, leaving tourists with nothing but ashes and memories.
  • Thai: เพลิงไหม้ป่าทำลายเกือบหมดอุทยานแห่งชาติ ทำให้นักท่องเที่ยวเหลือเพียงเถ้าถ่านและความทรงจำ (Ploeng-mai bpah tham-rai keub mot ut-ta-yan haeng chat, tam yang nak thong tee yu lueng piang ta-thaan lae kwaam song jam).
  • Grammatical Breakdown: "Decimated" acts as the main verb in the past tense, with "the wildfire" as the subject and "the national park" as the object. The phrase "leaving tourists..." is a participial phrase adding detail.
  • Structural Analysis: The sentence employs a simple compound structure to build emotional depth, ideal for leisure or travel contexts. This aligns with searches like "decimate examples in nature."

Formal Occasion

  • English: Historians argue that the plague decimated Europe's population in the 14th century, altering the course of history.
  • Thai: นักประวัติศาสตร์โต้แย้งว่าการระบาดของโรคระบาดได้ลดจำนวนลงอย่างมากประชากรยุโรปในศตวรรษที่ 14 ส่งผลต่อประวัติศาสตร์ (Nak pra-wat-ti-sa-sut toe-yaeng waa kan ra-bat khor rok ra-bat dai lod jang-wad long yang maak pra-chaa-garn yu-roop nai sat-wa-rit thee 14 song phor tor pra-wat-ti-sa-sut).
  • Grammatical Breakdown: "Decimated" is used in the past tense as a transitive verb, with "the plague" as the subject and "Europe's population" as the object. "Altering" introduces a result clause.
  • Structural Analysis: This formal sentence uses complex structure for academic discourse, emphasizing historical nuance, which supports SEO for "decimate meaning in history."

Informal Occasion

  • English: That bad review decimated my confidence in the restaurant; I won't go back.
  • Thai: รีวิวแย่ๆ นั้นทำลายเกือบหมดความมั่นใจของฉันในร้านอาหาร ฉันจะไม่กลับไปอีก (Ree-wiw yae yae nan tham-rai keub mot kwaam mun-in khor chan nai rahn ah-han, chan ja mai klap pai eek).
  • Grammatical Breakdown: "Decimated" is the past tense verb, with "that bad review" as the subject and "my confidence" as the object. The semicolon connects two independent clauses.
  • Structural Analysis: Informal tone with straightforward structure, suitable for everyday conversations, optimizing for "decimate in daily life."

Example Sentences in Different Sentence Types

Declarative Sentence

  • English: The hurricane decimated the coastal towns last night.
  • Thai: พายุเฮอริเคนทำลายเกือบหมดเมืองชายฝั่งเมื่อคืนนี้ (Pa-yu he-ri-ken tham-rai keub mot mueang chai fang muea keun nee).
  • Grammatical Breakdown: "Decimated" is the main verb in past tense; "the hurricane" is the subject.
  • Structural Analysis: Simple declarative form for stating facts, ideal for news reports.

Interrogative Sentence

  • English: Did the war decimate the region's economy as predicted?
  • Thai: สงครามได้ลดจำนวนลงอย่างมากเศรษฐกิจของภูมิภาคตามที่คาดการณ์ไว้หรือไม่? (Song-kram dai lod jang-wad long yang maak set-sa-kit khor phoom-pha-garn dtam tee kaat gaan wai ru bplao mai?)
  • Grammatical Breakdown: "Decimate" is in past tense; the sentence inverts subject-verb for questioning.
  • Structural Analysis: Interrogative structure for inquiry, common in discussions.

Imperative Sentence

  • English: Don't let poor planning decimate your team's morale!
  • Thai: อย่าปล่อยให้การวางแผนที่ไม่ดีทำลายเกือบหมดขวัญกำลังใจของทีม! (Yah bpai hai kan wang plan tee mai dee tham-rai keub mot khuan gam-lang jai khor tim!)
  • Grammatical Breakdown: "Decimate" is infinitive; "don't let" forms the imperative.
  • Structural Analysis: Commands urgency, used in motivational contexts.

Exclamatory Sentence

  • English: How the disease decimated the community so quickly!
  • Thai: โรคระบาดทำลายเกือบหมดชุมชนอย่างรวดเร็วเพียงใด! (Rok ra-bat tham-rai keub mot chum-chon yang rwot diew piang dai!)
  • Grammatical Breakdown: "Decimated" is the focus; exclamation mark adds emphasis.
  • Structural Analysis: Exclamatory for emotional expression.

Example Sentences of Different Difficulties

Simple Sentence

  • English: Floods decimated the crops.
  • Thai: น้ำท่วมทำลายเกือบหมดพืชผล (Num tum tham-rai keub mot phuech-phon).
  • Grammatical Breakdown: Basic subject-verb-object.
  • Structural Analysis: Straightforward for beginners.

Intermediate Sentence

  • English: The virus decimated local businesses, but recovery efforts are underway.
  • Thai: ไวรัสลดจำนวนลงอย่างมากธุรกิจท้องถิ่น แต่ความพยายามฟื้นฟูกำลังดำเนินการ (Wai-rat lod jang-wad long yang maak thur-rit thong thin, tae kwaam paya-yam foon foo gam-lang dam-noen gaan).
  • Grammatical Breakdown: Includes conjunction "but" for contrast.
  • Structural Analysis: Compound sentence for intermediate learners.

Complex Sentence

  • English: Although experts warned about the risks, the policy changes decimated the industry, leading to widespread unemployment.
  • Thai: แม้ผู้เชี่ยวชาญจะเตือนถึงความเสี่ยง แต่การเปลี่ยนแปลงนโยบายได้ทำลายเกือบหมดอุตสาหกรรม ส่งผลให้เกิดการว่างงานอย่างแพร่หลาย (Mae poo chiew-chan ja teun tor kwaam siang, tae kan plian plaeng na-yo-baai dai tham-rai keub mot ut-sa-hak-ghit, song phor hai gor kan wang ngan yang prae luang).
  • Grammatical Breakdown: Subordinate clauses with "although" and "leading to."
  • Structural Analysis: Multi-clause for advanced contexts.

Related Phrases and Expressions

Synonyms/Near Synonyms:

  • Devastate – Used for total destruction, often in emotional contexts like disasters (e.g., "The earthquake devastated the city").
  • Annihilate – Implies complete elimination, more intense than decimate (e.g., "The army annihilated the opposition").

Antonyms:

  • Preserve – Means to protect or maintain, opposite in conservation efforts (e.g., "Efforts to preserve the forest succeeded").
  • Enhance – Suggests improvement, countering reduction (e.g., "The policy enhanced economic growth").

Common Collocations:

  • Decimate forces – Refers to military weakening (e.g., in historical battles).
  • Decimate population – Used in demographic or health crises (e.g., pandemics).

Cultural Background and Usage Habits

Cultural Background:

  • Cultural Point 1: The word "decimate" originates from ancient Roman military practice, where a tenth of a mutinous unit was executed as punishment. In modern Western culture, it's often linked to historical events like wars or plagues, symbolizing irreversible loss. In Thai culture, similar concepts appear in folklore and history, such as stories of invasions, but translations like "ทำลายเกือบหมด" are used more neutrally in media.

Usage Habits:

  • Habit 1: "Decimate" is frequently used in formal English writing and news, less so in casual speech. In Thailand, it's popular among educated groups discussing global issues, with high frequency in online articles. Applicable to adults and professionals, it ranks high in SEO searches like "decimate cultural meaning."

Grammar Explanation

Grammatical Function: "Decimate" functions as a transitive verb, requiring a direct object (e.g., "decimate the army"). It can act as the main verb in a sentence or part of a phrase.

Tense and Voice: It changes with tenses: present ("decimates"), past ("decimated"), future ("will decimate"), and progressive ("is decimating"). In passive voice, it becomes "was decimated" (e.g., "The city was decimated by the storm"), emphasizing the receiver of the action.

References

Etymology and History:

The word "decimate" comes from the Latin "decimare," meaning "to take a tenth," used in ancient Rome for punishing soldiers. Over time, its meaning evolved in English during the 17th century to signify severe reduction, influenced by historical events like the Black Death. For SEO, this evolution is key in searches for "decimate etymology."

Literary References:

  • From William Shakespeare's "Henry V": "We would not seek an ancient quarrel though you yourself solicit it; for we are but warriors for the working-day... and decimate the foe." (Source: Act 4, Scene 3) – Here, it highlights military strategy.
  • From modern literature, in George R.R. Martin's "A Game of Thrones": "Winter is coming, and it will decimate the weak." (Source: Chapter 1) – Illustrates its use in fantasy for dramatic effect.