desolation

[ des-uh-ley-shuhn ]

/ ˌdɛs əˈleɪ ʃən /

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noun

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.

the state of being destroyed or devastated, as land, population, community, etc.: The utter desolation of the Western Front was captured in unforgettable photographs.

dreariness; barrenness:The poet fashions a mood of desolation and despair in his works.

deprivation of companionship; loneliness: Some homesteaders could not endure the desolation of life on the prairie, and returned to the city.

sorrow; grief; woe: She was so deep in her desolation, we don’t know if our words of comfort reached her.

a desolate place: The town was once a desolation.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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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 + -iōn- -ion

Words nearby desolation

Desna, desnood, deso, desocialize, desolate, desolation, desorb, desorption, De Soto, desoxy-, despair

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use desolation in a sentence

When I was 19—long before I ever thought I would land a career writing about space—I dreamed I was standing on the surface of Mars, looking over a rusted desert dotted with rocks, stuck in a perpetual lukewarm dusk, transfixed by the desolation.
I taught myself to lucid dream. You can too.|Neel V. Patel|August 25, 2021|MIT Technology Review
A breakup letter from you after 10 months once again sows in me the same desolation of that goodbye.
Locked up in the Land of Liberty: Part II|Michael K. Lavers|July 14, 2021|Washington Blade
All the little rootlets of sentiment which must be cut off in the process bleed and suffer and a period of desolation as well as isolation must ensue in all such cases.
Tucker Carlson’s espousal of ‘replacement’ theory is both toxic and ahistoric|Philip Bump|April 9, 2021|Washington Post
Unlike corporate behemoths of an earlier age, Amazon doesn’t want an enormous corporate campus, with a security perimeter, designated entrances and a lush landscape of meticulously curated grassy desolation and green despair.
The Helix is a distraction. Amazon’s new headquarters will change more than just its Arlington neighborhood.|Philip Kennicott|February 18, 2021|Washington Post

Saudi photographer Moath Alofi evokes desolation with a wide shot of desert sprinkled with abandoned cars.
In the galleries: Middle East artists examine sheltering in place amid pandemic|Mark Jenkins|January 15, 2021|Washington Post
It is the desolation of exiled Tibetans that dominates the tenor here, but it is not the only one.
The Real India Revealed|Rafia Zakaria|August 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As you work through the collection, the scenes become more stagnant, more still, as desolation takes over.
David Lynch Goes From Film to Photos with ‘The Factory Photographs’|Nico Hines|January 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The first is our quintessentially modern desolation, a “falling in all directions.”
Dear Frank Luntz: Here’s How to Be Happy Again|James Poulos|January 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Some people assume that if you can't speak or hear, you live in a cage of silence and desolation.
This Is What It Is Like To Be Deaf From Birth|Quora Contributor|December 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
His up-tempo songs had undercurrents of solitude, and the ballads that became his specialty were suffused with stoic desolation.
Country Music Singer George Jones, RIP|Justin Green|April 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The door was open, and the woman and the child stood dumbfounded and overwhelmed in a scene of incredible desolation.
Rosemary in Search of a Father|C. N. Williamson
For the nation and the kingdom that will not serve thee, shall perish: and the Gentiles shall be wasted with desolation.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
Under the type of breaking a potter's vessel, the prophet foresheweth the desolation of the Jews for their sins.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
And all this land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment: and all these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various
A prophecy of the desolation of Moab for their pride: but their captivity shall at last be released.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version|Various

British Dictionary definitions for desolation

desolation

/ (ˌdɛsəˈleɪʃən) /

noun

the act of desolating or the state of being desolated; ruin or devastation

solitary misery; wretchedness

a desolate region; barren waste

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

desolation

Origin of desolation

Words nearby desolation

Words related to desolation

How to use desolation in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for desolation