decimate

[Jonathan Lighter]

"To destroy handily or completely; undermine completely the credibility of":

2010 Chicago, Ill., attorney, age 45:  She got up in front of Congress, and
they decimated her and made her look like a kook.

JL
--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org