adj

desolate

DEHS-uh-luht

adj

Empty and bleak, with no people or life around; also, extremely sad and without hope.

"The desolate landscape stretched for miles without a single tree."

"She felt utterly desolate after losing her closest friend."

verb

To make a place empty of people or life; to devastate.

"The war desolated entire villages along the border."

How to Use Desolate

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishEmpty and bleak (a place), or deeply sad and without hope (a person).

Common pairings

a desolate wasteland feel desolate

more desolate comparative, desolated past tense, desolates singular, most desolate superlative

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Can you complete this real example?

The _____ landscape stretched for miles without a single tree.

From Latin desolatus, past participle of desolare, "to leave alone, forsake" — from de- + solus ("alone").

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