desolation
Americannoun
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an act or instance of destroying or devastating land, population, community, etc.
The war’s desolation of the land destroyed years of hard and hopeful work.
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the state of being destroyed or devastated, as land, population, community, etc..
The utter desolation of the Western Front was captured in unforgettable photographs.
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dreariness; barrenness.
The poet fashions a mood of desolation and despair in his works.
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deprivation of companionship; loneliness.
Some homesteaders could not endure the desolation of life on the prairie, and returned to the city.
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sorrow; grief; woe.
She was so deep in her desolation, we don’t know if our words of comfort reached her.
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a desolate place.
The town was once a desolation.
noun
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the act of desolating or the state of being desolated; ruin or devastation
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solitary misery; wretchedness
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a desolate region; barren waste
Etymology
Origin of desolation
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English desolacioun, dis(s)olacioun, from Late Latin dēsōlātiōn- (stem of dēsōlātiō ) “abandonment,” equivalent to dēsōlāt(us) desolate ( def. ) + -iōn- -ion ( def. )
Explanation
Desolation is emptiness and hopelessness. It can describe a poor, dirty, treeless town or a broken heart. Desolation is depressing and bleak. People arriving at the scenes of natural disasters, like tornadoes, often speak about the desolation around them. They usually are talking about the destruction, but they also implying a sense of emptiness and hopelessness. Other times desolation describes bleak, ugly landscapes: cold, snowy, lonely towns in New Hampshire or hot, dusty, empty towns in Nevada. You know desolation when you see it, because you feel hollow and lonely inside.
Vocabulary lists containing desolation
The Declaration of Independence
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Fahrenheit 451
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"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 1–7
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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.
Gone are the gritty warehouse districts, the nocturnal desolation of downtown and the shabby chic of South Beach.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
He remarked that “the desolation of the city, and the mystery that hung over it, all created an interest higher, if possible, than I had ever felt among the ruins of the Old World.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
This was particularly the case with the desert, whose desolation and desperation gave shape to the film's third act and the journey its characters were on.
From Barron's • Mar. 8, 2026
Who better to help us limn out these feelings of disgust, rage and desolation right now?
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 19, 2025
They stuck up at intervals in every direction, strangely sharpening the loneliness and desolation, sometimes the only sign of human presence in an acre or two of sand.
From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston
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.
