desolate
Americanadjective
-
barren or laid waste; devastated.
a treeless, desolate landscape.
- Synonyms:
- bleak
-
deprived or destitute of inhabitants; deserted; uninhabited.
- Synonyms:
- remote
-
a desolate life.
-
having the feeling of being abandoned by friends or by hope; forlorn.
-
desolate prospects.
verb (used with object)
adjective
-
uninhabited; deserted
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made uninhabitable; laid waste; devastated
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without friends, hope, or encouragement; forlorn, wretched, or abandoned
-
gloomy or dismal; depressing
verb
-
to deprive of inhabitants; depopulate
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to make barren or lay waste; devastate
-
to make wretched or forlorn
-
to forsake or abandon
Synonym Usage
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
Derived Forms
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desolatelyadverb
-
desolatenessnoun
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desolatornoun
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quasi-desolateadjective
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desolaternoun
-
quasi-desolatelyadverb
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
has desolatedperfect 3rd person singular
-
have desolatedperfect
-
am desolatingprogressive 1st person singular
-
has been desolatingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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are desolatingprogressive
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have been desolatingperfect progressive
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is desolatingprogressive 3rd person singular
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desolatingparticiple
-
desolatessingular 3rd person
Past
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had desolatedperfect
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had been desolatingperfect progressive
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was desolatingprogressive singular
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were desolatingprogressive plural
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desolatedsimple
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desolatedparticiple
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing desolate
Figurative Language in King's "I Have a Dream" Speech (1963)
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Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech (1963)
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Zilch, Zip, Nada: Words For Nothing
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“The moon was really a beautiful environment. Desolate, but yet it had beauty about it,” he said.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 21, 2022
Desolate street corners filled by Laker-clad prayer groups.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 27, 2020
Desolate saxophone notes weaving through a perseverating synthesizer and rapidly tapping, tapping, tapping drum machine.
From Salon • Jun. 15, 2017
Desolate, she sometimes implores the telephone to ring: “Is there no one in the whole world who would like to speak to me on any matter, however trifling?”
From Washington Post • Jan. 27, 2016
The Bride from the Under-world 224 Appendix: The Deceiving of Kewa 241 Homeless and Desolate Ghosts 245 Aumakuas, or Ancestor-ghosts 248 The Dragon Ghost-gods 255 Chas.
From Legends of Gods and Ghosts (Hawaiian Mythology) Collected and Translated from the Hawaiian by Westervelt, W. D. (William Drake)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
