Desolate — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

adjective verb /ˈde-sə-lət/ (adjective) /ˈde-sə-ˌlāt/ (verb) des·o·late

Meaning & Definition of Desolate

Desolate (adjective)

  1. devoid of inhabitants and visitors, deserted
  2. joyless, disconsolate, and sorrowful through or as if through separation from a loved one
  3. showing the effects of abandonment and neglect, dilapidated

Desolate (verb)

  1. to make desolate:
  2. to deprive of inhabitants
  3. to lay waste

Desolate (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer

    "a desolate house abandoned many years ago"

    similar: black, bleak, cheerless, chill, Cimmerian, cloudy, cold, comfortless, dark, darkening, depressing, depressive, dire, disconsolate, dismal, drear, dreary, dreich (chiefly Scottish), elegiac, forlorn, funereal, gloomy, glum, godforsaken, gray, lonely, lonesome, lugubrious, miserable, morbid, morose, murky, plutonian, saturnine, sepulchral, solemn, somber, sullen, sunless, tenebrific, tenebrous, wretched
    related: blue, dejected, depressed, despondent, down, droopy, hangdog, inconsolable, low, melancholic, melancholy, mirthless, sad, unhappy, woebegone, woeful, dim, discomfiting, discouraging, disheartening, dismaying, dispiriting, distressful, distressing, upsetting, desperate, hopeless, pessimistic, lamentable, mournful, plaintive, sorrowful, colorless, drab, dull, dour, grim, lowering, lowery, menacing, negative, oppressive, threatening
    opposite: bright, cheerful, cheering, cheery, comforting, cordial, festive, friendly, gay, heartwarming, sunshiny
    near: blithe, blithesome, buoyant, gay, jocund, jolly, joyful, joyous, merry, mirthful, encouraging, hopeful, optimistic, lighthearted, lightsome

  2. sad from lack of companionship or separation from others

    "he was less desolate after adopting a rescue dog"

    similar: forlorn, lonely, lonesome, lorn
    related: friendless, abandoned, deserted, forgotten, forsaken, neglected, rejected, alone, lone, solitary, solo, unaccompanied, only, sole
    near: accompanied, attended, escorted

  3. left unoccupied or unused

    "a desolate mining town that had its brief heyday more than a century ago"

    similar: abandoned, derelict, deserted, disused, forgotten, forsaken, rejected, vacant, vacated, void
    related: ignored, neglected, unattended, untended, castaway, cast-off, discarded, jettisoned, junked, refuse, waste, godforsaken, miserable, shabby, wretched, empty, idle
    near: reclaimed, recovered, redeemed, rescued, retrieved, salvaged, saved, reconditioned, rehabbed, rehabilitated, restored, repeopled

  4. producing inferior or only a small amount of vegetation

    "wild, desolate plains on which only the hardiest could survive"

    similar: barren, bony, dead, hardscrabble, impoverished, infertile, poor, stark, unfertile, unproductive, waste
    related: bleak, inhospitable, lifeless, uncultivable, untillable, bankrupted, consumed, debilitated, depleted, diminished, drained, dried-up, enfeebled, exhausted, expended, lessened, reduced, spent, used up, arid, desert, droughty, dry, rainless, sere, thirsty, waterless, baked, dehydrated, parched, sunbaked
    opposite: fertile, fruitful, lush, luxuriant, productive, rich
    near: arable, tillable, green, sylvan, verdant

Desolate (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of

    "totally desolated the city with aerial bombs"

    similar: annihilate, cream, decimate, demolish, destroy, devastate, do in, extinguish, nuke, pull down, pulverize, raze, rub out, ruin, shatter, smash, tear down, total, vaporize, waste, wrack, wreck
    related: beat, best, clobber, conquer, crush, defeat, drub, lick, master, overbear, overcome, overmatch, prevail (over), rout, scotch, skunk, subdue, surmount, thrash, trim, triumph (over), trounce, wallop, whip, win (against), blast, blow up, break, cripple, damage, deface, deteriorate, disfigure, disintegrate, dissolve, dynamite, harm, impair, injure, mangle, mar, mutilate, spoil, vitiate, erode, scour, sweep (away), wash out, wear (away), dilapidate, disassemble, dismantle, gut, take down, unbuild, undo, unmake, blot out, efface, eradicate, expunge, exterminate, extirpate, liquidate, obliterate, remove, root (out), snuff (out), stamp (out), wipe out, despoil, havoc, loot, pillage, plunder, ravage, sack, trample, trash, vandalize, assassinate, butcher, cut down, dispatch, execute, fell, kill, kill off, massacre, mow (down), murder, slaughter, slay, take out, zap
    opposite: build, construct, erect, put up, raise, rear, set up
    near: doctor, fix, mend, patch, recondition, repair, revamp, create, invent, assemble, fabricate, fashion, forge, form, frame, make, manufacture, mold, produce, shape, bring about, constitute, establish, father, found, institute, organize, conserve, preserve, protect, save, rebuild, reconstruct, remodel, renovate, restore

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Desolate

The most common words with a similar meaning to Desolate:

Chiefly Scottish: dreich
black, bleak, cheerless, chill, Cimmerian, cloudy, cold, comfortless, dark, darkening, depressing, depressive, dire, disconsolate, dismal, drear, dreary, elegiac, forlorn, funereal, gloomy, glum, godforsaken, gray, lonely, lonesome, lugubrious, miserable, morbid, morose, murky, plutonian, saturnine, sepulchral, solemn, somber, sullen, sunless, tenebrific, tenebrous

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Desolate

Words with the opposite meaning of Desolate:

bright, cheerful, cheering, cheery, comforting, cordial, festive, friendly, gay, heartwarming, sunshiny, fertile, fruitful, lush, luxuriant, productive, rich, build, construct, erect, put up, raise, rear, set up

Related Words for Desolate

blue, dejected, depressed, despondent, down, droopy, hangdog, inconsolable, low, melancholic, melancholy, mirthless, sad, unhappy, woebegone, woeful, dim, discomfiting, discouraging, disheartening, dismaying, dispiriting, distressful, distressing, upsetting, desperate, hopeless, pessimistic, lamentable, mournful

Near Antonyms of Desolate

blithe, blithesome, buoyant, jocund, jolly, joyful, joyous, merry, mirthful, encouraging, hopeful, optimistic, lighthearted, lightsome, accompanied, attended, escorted, reclaimed, recovered, redeemed, rescued, retrieved, salvaged, saved, reconditioned, rehabbed, rehabilitated, restored, repeopled, arable

Word Forms of Desolate

Inflections: desolated, desolating

Derived words: desolately (adverb), desolateness (noun), desolater (noun), desolatingly (adverb)

Origin & Etymology of Desolate

Middle English desolat, desolate "deserted, lonely, distressed," borrowed from Latin dēsōlātus, past participle of dēsōlāre "to leave all alone, forsake, empty of inhabitants," from dē- de- + -sōlāre, verbal derivative of sōlus "lone, acting without a partner, lonely, deserted," of uncertain origin

First known use: 14th century

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Desolate

Frequently Asked Questions about Desolate

What does "Desolate" mean?

"Desolate" means devoid of inhabitants and visitors, deserted. As an an adjective and a verb, it is defined as: devoid of inhabitants and visitors, deserted. It has 5 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Desolate"?

Other words for "Desolate" include black, bleak, cheerless, chill, Cimmerian, cloudy, cold and comfortless. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Desolate" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Desolate"?

There are 274 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Desolate". Common alternatives include black, bleak, cheerless, chill, Cimmerian, cloudy, cold, comfortless, dark and darkening.

What is the opposite of "Desolate"?

Antonyms of "Desolate" include bright, cheerful, cheering, cheery, comforting, cordial, festive and friendly. Near antonyms include blithe, blithesome, buoyant and jocund.

How do you use "Desolate" in a sentence?

Examples of "Desolate" in a sentence: "a desolate house abandoned many years ago"; "he was less desolate after adopting a rescue dog"; "a desolate mining town that had its brief heyday more than a century ago".

Is "Desolate" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Desolate" can be used as an adjective and a verb, depending on the context.

Is "Desolate" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As a C2-level word, "Desolate" is typical of Cambridge C2 Proficiency (CPE), IELTS band 8.5–9.0, TOEFL iBT 114–120, PTE Academic 85–90. Advanced words like this are also useful for the GRE, SAT, GMAT, and LSAT.

How do you pronounce "Desolate"?

"Desolate" is pronounced /ˈde-sə-lət/ as an adjective and /ˈde-sə-ˌlāt/ as a verb and divided into syllables as des·o·late.