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definitions

desolate

[adjective des-uh-lit; verb des-uh-leyt]
See more synonyms for desolate on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. barren or laid waste; devastated: a treeless, desolate landscape.
  2. deprived or destitute of inhabitants; deserted; uninhabited.
  3. solitary; lonely: a desolate place.
  4. having the feeling of being abandoned by friends or by hope; forlorn.
  5. dreary; dismal; gloomy: desolate prospects.
verb (used with object), des·o·lat·ed, des·o·lat·ing.
  1. to lay waste; devastate.
  2. to deprive of inhabitants; depopulate.
  3. to make disconsolate.
  4. to forsake or abandon.

Origin of desolate

1325–75; Middle English < Latin dēsōlātus forsaken, past participle of dēsōlāre, equivalent to dē- de- + sōlāre to make lonely, derivative of sōlus sole1; see -ate1
Related formsdes·o·late·ly, adverbdes·o·late·ness, noundes·o·lat·er, des·o·la·tor, nounqua·si-des·o·late, adjectivequa·si-des·o·late·ly, adverb
Can be confuseddesolate dissolute

Synonyms for desolate

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1. ravaged. 2. desert. 4. lonesome, lost; miserable, wretched, woebegone, woeful, inconsolable, cheerless, hopeless. 6. ravage, ruin. 8. sadden, depress. 9. desert.

Synonym study

4. Desolate, disconsolate, forlorn suggest one who is in a sad and wretched condition. The desolate person is deprived of human consolation, relationships, or presence: desolate and despairing. The disconsolate person is aware of the efforts of others to console and comfort, but is unable to be relieved or cheered by them: She remained disconsolate even in the midst of friends. The forlorn person is lost, deserted, or forsaken by friends: wretched and forlorn in a strange city.

Antonyms for desolate

4. delighted, happy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for desolate

lonely, uninhabited, isolated, dreary, bare, empty, lonesome, derelict, bleak, forlorn, abandoned, forsaken, ruined, destroyed, waste, desert, blue, dejected, down, black

Examples from the Web for desolate

Contemporary Examples of desolate

Historical Examples of desolate

  • Yet all seemed cheerless; for the heart of Paralus was desolate.

    Philothea

    Lydia Maria Child

  • He was ashamed to be there—ashamed to meet the desolate and, as he believed, erring sister.

    Night and Morning, Complete

    Edward Bulwer-Lytton

  • And how desolate was its abandonment, what a stream of silence and solitude it was!

  • To the cast and north of our hill was an expanse of rolling, desolate wilderness.

  • All my plans for my work and my life assumed the most gray and desolate hues.

    The Harbor

    Ernest Poole

British Dictionary definitions for desolate

desolate

adjective (ˈdɛsəlɪt)
  1. uninhabited; deserted
  2. made uninhabitable; laid waste; devastated
  3. without friends, hope, or encouragement; forlorn, wretched, or abandoned
  4. gloomy or dismal; depressing
verb (ˈdɛsəˌleɪt) (tr)
  1. to deprive of inhabitants; depopulate
  2. to make barren or lay waste; devastate
  3. to make wretched or forlorn
  4. to forsake or abandon
Derived Formsdesolater or desolator, noundesolately, adverbdesolateness, noun

Word Origin for desolate

C14: from Latin dēsōlāre to leave alone, from de- + sōlāre to make lonely, lay waste, from sōlus alone
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for desolate
adj.

mid-14c., "without companions," also "uninhabited," from Latin desolatus, past participle of desolare "leave alone, desert," from de- "completely" (see de-) + solare "make lonely," from solus "alone" (see sole (adj.)). Sense of "joyless" is 15c.

v.

late 14c., from desolate (adj.). Related: Desolated; desolating.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper