desolate

1 of 2

adjective

des·o·late ˈde-sə-lət How to pronounce desolate (audio)

ˈde-zə-

: devoid of inhabitants and visitors : deserted

a desolate abandoned town

: joyless, disconsolate, and sorrowful through or as if through separation from a loved one

a desolate widow

: showing the effects of abandonment and neglect : dilapidated

a desolate old house

: barren, lifeless

a desolate landscape

: devoid of warmth, comfort, or hope : gloomy

desolate memories

desolately adverb

desolateness noun

desolate

2 of 2

verb

des·o·late ˈde-sə-ˌlāt How to pronounce desolate (audio)

ˈde-zə-

desolated; desolating

transitive verb

: to make desolate:

: to deprive of inhabitants

The neighboring towns were desolated.

: to lay waste

desolating the city with bombs

: forsake

their desolated families back home

: to make wretched

desolater noun

or desolator

ˈde-sə-ˌlā-tər How to pronounce desolate (audio)

ˈde-zə-

desolatingly

ˈde-sə-ˌlā-tiŋ-lē How to pronounce desolate (audio)

ˈde-zə-

adverb

Did you know?

What is the word origin of desolate?

The word desolate hasn't strayed far from its Latin roots: its earliest meaning of "deserted" mirrors that of its Latin source dēsōlātus, which comes from the verb dēsōlāre, meaning "to leave all alone, forsake, empty of inhabitants." That word's root is sōlus, meaning "lone, acting without a partner, lonely, deserted," source too of sole, soliloquy, solitary, solitude, and solo. Desolate also functions as a verb with its most common meanings being "to lay waste" and "to make wretched; to make someone deeply dejected or distressed."

Synonyms

Adjective

black
bleak
cheerless
chill
Cimmerian
cloudy
cold
comfortless
dark
darkening
depressing
depressive
dire
disconsolate
dismal
drear
dreary
dreich [chiefly Scottish]
elegiac
elegiacal
forlorn
funereal
gloomy
glum
godforsaken
gray
grey
lonely
lonesome
lugubrious
miserable
morbid
morose
murky
plutonian
saturnine
sepulchral
solemn
somber
sombre
sullen
sunless
tenebrific
tenebrous
wretched

Verb

annihilate
cream
decimate
demolish
destroy
devastate
do in
extinguish
nuke
pull down
pulverize
raze
rub out
ruin
shatter
smash
tear down
total
vaporize
waste
wrack
wreck

See all Synonyms & Antonyms

Example Sentences

Adjective a desolate house abandoned many years ago he was less desolate after adopting a rescue dog Verb totally desolated the city with aerial bombs

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

But when the gas wells dried up, factories closed and people began to move away, leaving its downtown desolate.

Claire Rafford, The Indianapolis Star, 22 Aug. 2022 Despite being a quick stroll to City Hall’s stately dome, the five blocks on Market Street between Sixth and 11th streets were desolate.

Roland Li, San Francisco Chronicle, 12 July 2022 Hans Island is just a desolate, kidney shaped piece of rock in the Arctic.

Ian Austen, New York Times, 14 June 2022 Severodonetsk and the communities that surround it are growing more desolate by the day.

Sudarsan Raghavan, Washington Post, 31 May 2022 In the neighboring gallery, the brown sand had become a desolate, blood-red landscape.

Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2022 And the glacial drip, drip, drip of ticket sales is only going to worsen as the box office heads for a near desolate stretch with hardly any new offerings from major studios on the horizon.

Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 14 Aug. 2022 Nye County, the country’s third largest by area, stretches from the strip malls on the outer margins of Las Vegas through desolate rangelands where cattle graze and the military trains pilots and practices missile-firing and bomb drops.

Sam Metz, Anchorage Daily News, 29 July 2022 In one desolate village cemetery outside the capital, a local man showing visitors around recently pointed out the grave of a man who had been suspected of aiding the occupiers.

Laura Kingstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 28 July 2022

Verb

In the past few weeks, the moviegoing landscape has taken a drastic turn from dreary to downright desolate.

Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 30 Aug. 2022 Like any masterful monologue, one felt invited inside the mind behind that desolate yet brave voice.

Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 3 June 2022 For eight weeks, the streets of Paris were empty of traffic and silent, the sidewalks desolate, all but essential food stores closed.

Rachel Donadio, The New York Review of Books, 23 July 2020 For eight weeks, the streets of Paris were empty of traffic and silent, the sidewalks desolate, all but essential food stores closed.

Rachel Donadio, The New York Review of Books, 23 July 2020 But by summer’s end, the early excitement had died down and many sidewalk tables were languishing unfilled, leaving neighborhood streets desolate rather than boisterous, North End restaurateurs said then.

BostonGlobe.com, 28 July 2021 See More

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English desolat, desolate "deserted, lonely, distressed," borrowed from Latin dēsōlātus, past participle of dēsōlāre "to leave all alone, forsake, empty of inhabitants," from dē- de- + -sōlāre, verbal derivative of sōlus "lone, acting without a partner, lonely, deserted," of uncertain origin

Verb

Middle English desolaten (in past participle desolatid "deserted, ruined"), borrowed from Latin dēsōlātus, past participle of dēsōlāre "to leave all alone, forsake, empty of inhabitants" — more at desolate entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

desolate 1 of 2

adjective

des·o·late ˈde-sə-lət How to pronounce desolate (audio)

: having no comfort or companionship : lonely

: left neglected or in ruins

a desolate old house

: without signs of life : barren

a dry, desolate land

: cheerless, gloomy

She put aside desolate thoughts.

desolate

2 of 2

verb

des·o·late ˈde-sə-ˌlāt How to pronounce desolate (audio)

desolated; desolating

: to ruin or leave without comfort or companionship

单词	desolateness
释义	desolate 1 of 2 adjective des·o·late ˈde-sə-lət ˈde-zə- 1 : devoid of inhabitants and visitors : deserted a desolate abandoned town 2 : joyless, disconsolate, and sorrowful through or as if through separation from a loved one a desolate widow 3 a : showing the effects of abandonment and neglect : dilapidated a desolate old house b : barren, lifeless a desolate landscape c : devoid of warmth, comfort, or hope : gloomy desolate memories desolately adverb desolateness noun desolate 2 of 2 verb des·o·late ˈde-sə-ˌlāt ˈde-zə- desolated; desolating transitive verb : to make desolate: a : to deprive of inhabitants The neighboring towns were desolated. b : to lay waste desolating the city with bombs c : forsake their desolated families back home d : to make wretched desolater noun or desolator ˈde-sə-ˌlā-tər ˈde-zə- desolatingly ˈde-sə-ˌlā-tiŋ-lē ˈde-zə- adverb Did you know? What is the word origin of desolate? The word desolate hasn't strayed far from its Latin roots: its earliest meaning of "deserted" mirrors that of its Latin source dēsōlātus, which comes from the verb dēsōlāre, meaning "to leave all alone, forsake, empty of inhabitants." That word's root is sōlus, meaning "lone, acting without a partner, lonely, deserted," source too of sole, soliloquy, solitary, solitude, and solo. Desolate also functions as a verb with its most common meanings being "to lay waste" and "to make wretched; to make someone deeply dejected or distressed." Synonyms Adjective black bleak cheerless chill Cimmerian cloudy cold comfortless dark darkening depressing depressive dire disconsolate dismal drear dreary dreich [chiefly Scottish] elegiac elegiacal forlorn funereal gloomy glum godforsaken gray grey lonely lonesome lugubrious miserable morbid morose murky plutonian saturnine sepulchral solemn somber sombre sullen sunless tenebrific tenebrous wretched Verb annihilate cream decimate demolish destroy devastate do in extinguish nuke pull down pulverize raze rub out ruin shatter smash tear down total vaporize waste wrack wreck See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Adjective a desolate house abandoned many years ago he was less desolate after adopting a rescue dog Verb totally desolated the city with aerial bombs Recent Examples on the Web Adjective But when the gas wells dried up, factories closed and people began to move away, leaving its downtown desolate. Claire Rafford, The Indianapolis Star, 22 Aug. 2022 Despite being a quick stroll to City Hall’s stately dome, the five blocks on Market Street between Sixth and 11th streets were desolate. Roland Li, San Francisco Chronicle, 12 July 2022 Hans Island is just a desolate, kidney shaped piece of rock in the Arctic. Ian Austen, New York Times, 14 June 2022 Severodonetsk and the communities that surround it are growing more desolate by the day. Sudarsan Raghavan, Washington Post, 31 May 2022 In the neighboring gallery, the brown sand had become a desolate, blood-red landscape. Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2022 And the glacial drip, drip, drip of ticket sales is only going to worsen as the box office heads for a near desolate stretch with hardly any new offerings from major studios on the horizon. Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 14 Aug. 2022 Nye County, the country’s third largest by area, stretches from the strip malls on the outer margins of Las Vegas through desolate rangelands where cattle graze and the military trains pilots and practices missile-firing and bomb drops. Sam Metz, Anchorage Daily News, 29 July 2022 In one desolate village cemetery outside the capital, a local man showing visitors around recently pointed out the grave of a man who had been suspected of aiding the occupiers. Laura Kingstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 28 July 2022 Verb In the past few weeks, the moviegoing landscape has taken a drastic turn from dreary to downright desolate. Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 30 Aug. 2022 Like any masterful monologue, one felt invited inside the mind behind that desolate yet brave voice. Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 3 June 2022 For eight weeks, the streets of Paris were empty of traffic and silent, the sidewalks desolate, all but essential food stores closed. Rachel Donadio, The New York Review of Books, 23 July 2020 For eight weeks, the streets of Paris were empty of traffic and silent, the sidewalks desolate, all but essential food stores closed. Rachel Donadio, The New York Review of Books, 23 July 2020 For eight weeks, the streets of Paris were empty of traffic and silent, the sidewalks desolate, all but essential food stores closed. Rachel Donadio, The New York Review of Books, 23 July 2020 For eight weeks, the streets of Paris were empty of traffic and silent, the sidewalks desolate, all but essential food stores closed. Rachel Donadio, The New York Review of Books, 23 July 2020 For eight weeks, the streets of Paris were empty of traffic and silent, the sidewalks desolate, all but essential food stores closed. Rachel Donadio, The New York Review of Books, 23 July 2020 But by summer’s end, the early excitement had died down and many sidewalk tables were languishing unfilled, leaving neighborhood streets desolate rather than boisterous, North End restaurateurs said then. BostonGlobe.com, 28 July 2021 See More Word History Etymology Adjective Middle English desolat, desolate "deserted, lonely, distressed," borrowed from Latin dēsōlātus, past participle of dēsōlāre "to leave all alone, forsake, empty of inhabitants," from dē- de- + -sōlāre, verbal derivative of sōlus "lone, acting without a partner, lonely, deserted," of uncertain origin Verb Middle English desolaten (in past participle desolatid "deserted, ruined"), borrowed from Latin dēsōlātus, past participle of dēsōlāre "to leave all alone, forsake, empty of inhabitants" — more at desolate entry 1 First Known Use Adjective 14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1 Verb 14th century, in the meaning defined above Kids Definition desolate 1 of 2 adjective des·o·late ˈde-sə-lət 1 : having no comfort or companionship : lonely 2 : left neglected or in ruins a desolate old house 3 : without signs of life : barren a dry, desolate land 4 : cheerless, gloomy She put aside desolate thoughts. desolate 2 of 2 verb des·o·late ˈde-sə-ˌlāt desolated; desolating : to ruin or leave without comfort or companionship desolateness noun 1 as in melancholy Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance melancholy dreariness dejection joylessness forlornness gloominess sorrowfulness unhappiness despair oppression wretchedness glumness misery heartsickness distress desolation downheartedness gloom miserableness suffering blue devils blues disconsolateness despondence woefulness distress depression dumps dispiritedness despondency mopes agony torment sorrow doldrums remorse regret guilt anguish heartbreak grief heartache shame pain woe rue self-reproach contrition melancholia sorriness dolor dolefulness self-pity affliction Antonyms & Near Antonyms joy joyousness happiness exultation cheerfulness ecstasy joyfulness elation blessedness exhilaration exuberance cheeriness euphoria delight pleasure felicity jubilation bliss gayety gladness glee rapture mirth gaiety blissfulness gleefulness joviality optimism elatedness merrymaking lightheartedness mirthfulness jollity hopefulness humor gladsomeness cheer rapturousness gayness merriment enjoyment contentment sunniness contentedness content See More 2 as in bleakness Synonyms & Similar Words bleakness barrenness nothingness blankness dryness exhaustion availability clearness vacuum depletion hollowness openness bareness emptiness void vacancy vacantness vacuity Antonyms & Near Antonyms fullness fulness completeness abundance fatness repleteness
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