desolate

1325–75; Middle English <Latin dēsōlātus forsaken, past participle of dēsōlāre, equivalent to dē-de- + sōlāre to make lonely, derivative of sōlussole¹; see -ate¹

synonym study for desolate

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.

OTHER WORDS FROM desolate

des·o·late·ly, adverbdes·o·late·ness, noundes·o·lat·er, des·o·la·tor, nounqua·si-des·o·late, adjective

qua·si-des·o·late·ly, adverb

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH desolate

desolate , dissolute

How to use desolate in a sentence

Without any money for additional workers, the couple worked the desolate fields all day, likening themselves to Adam and Eve.
Minari and the Real Korean-American Immigrants Who Have Farmed U.S. Soil for More Than a Century|Andrew R. Chow|February 12, 2021|Time
With visitors expected to adhere to strict quarantine rules, or banned from visiting countries altogether, once busy airports and hotels have become desolate.
Travel will return in 2021—but it won’t be any fun|Tripti Lahiri|January 31, 2021|Quartz
What should be a joyous and celebratory event has turned into a desolate scene where millions fear for the safety of the incoming president and vice president.
This Is Not a ‘Peaceful Transition’|Tracy Moran|January 20, 2021|Ozy
Because the moon is a desolate place with no atmosphere, its surface is a pristine record of meteorite impacts over time.
This is what NASA wants to do when it gets to the moon|Neel Patel|December 9, 2020|MIT Technology Review

For two hours she sat desolately on the horse block and then sadly entered the house with a cold in her head.
The Incubator Baby|Ellis Parker Butler
As the light broke over the bay, coldly pink and desolately gleaming, Captain Joe got up and looked about him.
Earth's Enigmas|Charles G. D. Roberts
For with all her activity and with all the attention she seemed to receive, Cordelia's life was still a desolately lonely one.
The Silver Poppy|Arthur Stringer
It was a gloomy winter's day, the waters rolled on black and sullen, and the dry leaves rustled desolately beneath my feet.
Eugene Aram, Complete|Edward Bulwer-Lytton
She stayed all day in a flat, desolately quiet, waiting for one moment when the dearest and best came home.
Married Life|May Edginton

British Dictionary definitions for desolate

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 forms of desolate

desolater 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

desolate

OTHER WORDS FOR desolate

OPPOSITES FOR desolate

Origin of desolate

synonym study for desolate

OTHER WORDS FROM desolate

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH desolate

Words related to desolate

How to use desolate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for desolate

Derived forms of desolate

Word Origin for desolate