desolation

[ des-uh-ley-shuh n ]

/ ˌdɛs əˈleɪ ʃən /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR desolation ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an act or instance of desolating.

the state of being desolated.

devastation; ruin.

depopulation.

dreariness; barrenness.

deprivation of companionship; loneliness.

sorrow; grief; woe.

a desolate place.

Nearby words

desna, desnood, deso, desocialize, desolate, desolation, desonide, desorb, desorption, desoximetasone, desoxy-

Origin of desolation

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin dēsōlātiōn- (stem of dēsōlātiō) abandonment, equivalent to dēsōlāt(us) (see desolate) + -iōn- -ion

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for desolation

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
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
She vividly describes the desolation and frustration of incarceration and puts Knox in every scene.
My Prison Time With Amanda|Barbie Latza Nadeau|September 14, 2010|DAILY BEAST

Surrounded as they were with desolation, dangers and misery, they will be remembered for their worth and devotion to duty.
The Red Cross in Peace and War|Clara Barton
The Venetian plain immediately east of the Piave is a scene of desolation.
The Story of the Great War, Volume VIII (of VIII)|various
Together they made a mocking and a desolation of her love and her life.
The Cab of the Sleeping Horse|John Reed Scott
How small, how insignificant they seemed amid this hungry emptiness of desolation.
Incredible Adventures|Algernon Blackwood
Priscilla had not heard from Travers in ten days, and this added to her sense of desolation.
The Place Beyond the Winds|Harriet T. Comstock

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

Word Origin and History for desolation

desolation

late 14c., "action of laying waste," also "sorrow, grief," from Old French desolacion (12c.) "desolation, devastation, hopelessness, despair," from Church Latin desolationem (nominative desolatio), noun of action from past participle stem of desolare (see desolate (adj.)). Meaning "condition of being ruined or wasted" is from early 15c.

desolation

noun

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Origin of desolation

Examples from the Web for desolation

British Dictionary definitions for desolation

desolation

noun

Word Origin and History for desolation

desolation