deserted

American  

[dih-zur-tid] / dɪˈzɜr tɪd /

adjective

1. abandoned; forsaken.

   the problems of deserted wives and children.

2. untenanted: without inhabitants.

   a deserted village; a deserted farmhouse.

3. unfrequented; lonely.

   The victim was lured to a deserted spot.

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Other Word Forms

• undeserted adjective

Etymology

Origin of deserted

First recorded in 1620–30; desert ² + -ed ²

Explanation

If something’s deserted it’s empty and abandoned. It's fun to spend an afternoon taking pictures of a deserted house with its overgrown yard and mysterious relics, but come nightfall it might feel a little spooky. The adjective deserted often describes an empty building that’s been abandoned by its owners, but you can use it for anything that’s remote or without any people around. You might get the chills when you walk down a deserted street at night. Deserted can also describe something that’s much less crowded than normal. On Super Bowl Sunday, the shopping mall might be deserted — everyone is home, watching the game.

Example Sentences

A school newspaper article described the student center in 2023 as desolate and deserted.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

Dubai’s sprawling gold market is deserted, in part because buyers from abroad no longer come, and in part because of dramatic fluctuations in gold prices.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

Alberto Rodríguez, 73, limped with a cane down a deserted industrial street.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2026

On a dark winter evening, a woman waits for a train on a deserted platform.

From BBC • Mar. 9, 2026

For the rest of her life, pilot Yevgeniya Zhigulenko never forgot finding a small boy with a haunted, thin face and huge green eyes alone in a deserted village.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

Related Words

• barren
• derelict
• desolate
• empty
• forlorn
• isolated
• lonely
• neglected
• uninhabited
• vacant