[thecodont]

I thought “decimated” meant only one tenth was destroyed. The author could have said “severely damaged” and been more accurate.

[null and void]

I thought “decimated” meant only one tenth was destroyed.

It did. The meaning is shifting to one tenth surviving.

Like "awful" used to mean awesome...

[afraidfortherepublic]

Exactly! I was going to make that very point. 90% should remain if the church was only “decimated”. That point was reiterated this week on the History Channel when they were talking about Caligula marching on Britain and the troops rebelling.

[OKSooner]

" DANBURY, CT - St. Nicholas Church, founded in the city 90 years ago, was decimated by fire Saturday afternoon.

What this means is that this newspaper is written by illiterates.

Surprised?

[Standing Wolf]

I thought “decimated” meant only one tenth was destroyed. The author could have said “severely damaged” and been more accurate.

You beat me to it, thecodont. People who can't be troubled to exercise dictionaries should quit trying to masquerade as journalists.

[drjimmy]

You think wrong. Those who are fixated on the supposed etymology of the word “decimate” need to check an actual dictionary. This is a perfectly acceptable usage.