desolate
Americanadjective
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barren or laid waste; devastated.
a treeless, desolate landscape.
- Synonyms:
- bleak
-
deprived or destitute of inhabitants; deserted; uninhabited.
- Synonyms:
- remote
-
a desolate life.
-
having the feeling of being abandoned by friends or by hope; forlorn.
-
desolate prospects.
adjective
-
uninhabited; deserted
-
made uninhabitable; laid waste; devastated
-
without friends, hope, or encouragement; forlorn, wretched, or abandoned
-
gloomy or dismal; depressing
verb
-
to deprive of inhabitants; depopulate
-
to make barren or lay waste; devastate
-
to make wretched or forlorn
-
to forsake or abandon
Related Words
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 Word Forms
- desolately adverb
- desolateness noun
- desolater noun
- desolator noun
- quasi-desolate adjective
- quasi-desolately adverb
Etymology
Origin of desolate
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Latin dēsōlātus “forsaken,” past participle of dēsōlāre, from dē- de- + sōlāre “to make lonely” (derivative of sōlus sole 1 )
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.
The 36-year-old must constantly scan the desolate, drought-ravaged terrain for loose wires and suspicious debris.
From Barron's • Feb. 19, 2026
The street was desolate, aside from the presence of police officers and community security guards.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 16, 2025
In January, when the Eaton and Palisades fires broke out, the shop was desolate for around a month.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 8, 2025
Or your favorite vacation spot might be the perfect beach town in the summer, but desolate and lonely in the winter.
From MarketWatch • Nov. 29, 2025
The witch did not step toward them, she did not call to them, she merely stood there, completely still, the center of this desolate universe, while the air bowed to her.
From "Breadcrumbs" by Anne Ursu
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.