desolate

American  

[des-uh-lit, des-uh-leyt] / ˈdɛs ə lɪt, ˈdɛs əˌleɪt /

adjective

1. barren or laid waste; devastated.

   a treeless, desolate landscape.

   Synonyms:

   bleak

2. deprived or destitute of inhabitants; deserted; uninhabited.

   Synonyms:

   remote

3. solitary; lonely.

   a desolate life.

4. having the feeling of being abandoned by friends or by hope; forlorn.

   Synonyms:

   hopeless, cheerless, inconsolable, woeful, woebegone, wretched, miserable, lost, lonesome

   Antonyms:

   happy, delighted

5. dreary; dismal; gloomy.

   desolate prospects.

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verb (used with object)

desolated, desolating

1. to lay waste; devastate.

   Synonyms:

   ruin, ravage

2. to deprive of inhabitants; depopulate.

3. to make disconsolate.

   Synonyms:

   depress, sadden

4. to forsake or abandon.

   Synonyms:

   desert

desolate British  

adjective

1. uninhabited; deserted

2. made uninhabitable; laid waste; devastated

3. without friends, hope, or encouragement; forlorn, wretched, or abandoned

4. gloomy or dismal; depressing

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verb

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

Related Words

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.

Other Word Forms

• desolately adverb
• desolateness noun
• desolater noun
• desolator noun
• quasi-desolate adjective
• quasi-desolately adverb

Etymology

Origin of desolate

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Latin dēsōlātus “forsaken,” past participle of dēsōlāre, from dē- de- + sōlāre “to make lonely” (derivative of sōlus sole ¹ )

Explanation

If you feel alone, left out, and devastated, you feel desolate. A deserted, empty, depressing place can be desolate too. If you know the word deserted, you have a clue to the meaning of desolate, a grim word that can describe feelings and places. When a person feels desolate, he feels deserted, lonely, hopeless, and sad. When a location is desolate, there's almost nothing there. Think of a rundown cabin in the middle of nowhere, with no running water and no stores or other people anywhere. That's a desolate setting. Being in a desolate place usually makes people feel desolate.

Example Sentences

On de-boarding, the last station bore the look of a desolate Soviet-era structure rather than a bustling train terminal in a city where crowds typically jostle for space.

From BBC • Apr. 19, 2026

Although stretches of the opposite riverbank appeared "desolate", he said, "it's a lot more developed than I thought".

From Barron's • Mar. 29, 2026

It stretches northward into desolate permafrost regions flush with “oil sands” that produce about nine times as much crude as Alaska.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 14, 2026

Streets and sidewalks that have been desolate all day are suddenly bustling with people, seemingly drawn in by the glowing light.

From Salon • Dec. 18, 2025

The foragers were there before us and they brought about dramatic changes even in the densest jungles and the most desolate wildernesses.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

Related Words

• bare
• bleak
• derelict
• dreary
• empty
• isolated
• lonely
• lonesome
• uninhabited