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desolate

[adjective des-uh-lit; verb des-uh-leyt]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR desolate ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

verb (used with object), des·o·lat·ed, des·o·lat·ing.

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RELATED WORDS

desperately, sadly, dispiritedly, cynically, darkly, dejectedly, despairingly, despondently, disconsolately, dismally, emptily, gloomily, pessimistically

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

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR desolate ON THESAURUS.COM
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. 2019

Examples from the Web for desolately

Historical Examples of desolately

  • I could not prompt him to go on, but he presently did so himself, desolately enough.

    Questionable Shapes

    William Dean Howells

  • "We are now about to get all the news of the neighbourhood," she said desolately.

    Love at Paddington

    W. Pett Ridge

  • "The house won't be like a home without you," said he desolately.

  • The square was silent; desolately silent, as only a suburban square can be.

    Basil

    Wilkie Collins

  • For, methinks, I have been kept a great while from you, desolately alone.

British Dictionary definitions for desolately

desolate

adjective (ˈdɛsəlɪt)

uninhabited; deserted
made uninhabitable; laid waste; devastated
without friends, hope, or encouragement; forlorn, wretched, or abandoned
gloomy or dismal; depressing

verb (ˈdɛsəˌleɪt) (tr)

to deprive of inhabitants; depopulate
to make barren or lay waste; devastate
to make wretched or forlorn
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 desolately

desolate

v.

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

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper