desolate

des·o·late  (ds-lt, dz-)

adj.

1.

a. Devoid of inhabitants; deserted: "streets which were usually so thronged now grown desolate" Daniel Defoe.

b. Barren; lifeless: the rocky, desolate surface of the moon.

2. Rendered unfit for habitation or use: the desolate cities of war-torn Europe.

3. Dreary; dismal.

4. Bereft of friends or hope; sad and forlorn. See Synonyms at sad.

tr.v. (-lt) des·o·lat·ed, des·o·lat·ing, des·o·lates

1. To rid or deprive of inhabitants.

2. To lay waste; devastate: "Here we have no wars to desolate our fields" Michel Guillaume Jean de Crèvecoeur.

3. To forsake; abandon.

4. To make lonely, forlorn, or wretched.

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[Middle English desolat, from Latin dsltus, past participle of dslre, to abandon : d-, de- + slus, alone; see s(w)e- in Indo-European roots.]

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deso·late·ly adv.

deso·late·ness n.

deso·later, deso·lator n.

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desolate

Adjective

1. uninhabited and bleak

2. made uninhabitable; devastated

3. without friends, hope, or encouragement

4. gloomy or dismal; depressing

Verb

[-lating, -lated]

1. to deprive of inhabitants

2. to make barren; devastate

3. to make wretched or forlorn [Latin desolare to leave alone]

desolately adv
desolateness n

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	desolate - leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch; "The mother deserted her children" desert, forsake, abandon leave - go and leave behind, either intentionally or by neglect or forgetfulness; "She left a mess when she moved out"; "His good luck finally left him"; "her husband left her after 20 years of marriage"; "she wept thinking she had been left behind" expose - abandon by leaving out in the open air; "The infant was exposed by the teenage mother"; "After Christmas, many pets get abandoned" walk out - leave suddenly, often as an expression of disapproval; "She walked out on her husband and children" ditch - forsake; "ditch a lover" maroon, strand - leave stranded or isolated with little hope of rescue; "the travellers were marooned"
	2.	desolate - reduce in population; "The epidemic depopulated the countryside" depopulate shrink, reduce - reduce in size; reduce physically; "Hot water will shrink the sweater"; "Can you shrink this image?"
	3.	desolate - cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly; "The enemy lay waste to the countryside after the invasion" devastate, lay waste to, ravage, scourge, waste ruin, destroy - destroy completely; damage irreparably; "You have ruined my car by pouring sugar in the tank!"; "The tears ruined her make-up" ruin - reduce to ruins; "The country lay ruined after the war"
Adj.	1.	desolate - providing no shelter or sustenance; "bare rocky hills"; "barren lands"; "the bleak treeless regions of the high Andes"; "the desolate surface of the moon"; "a stark landscape" barren, bleak, stark, bare inhospitable - unfavorable to life or growth; "the barren inhospitable desert"; "inhospitable mountain areas"
	2.	desolate - crushed by grief; "depressed and desolate of soul"; "a low desolate wail" disconsolate, inconsolable, unconsolable - sad beyond comforting; incapable of being consoled; "inconsolable when her son died"

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desolate

adjective 1. uninhabited, deserted, bare, waste, wild, ruined, bleak, solitary, barren, dreary, godforsaken, unfrequented << OPPOSITE inhabited

adjective 2. miserable, depressed, lonely, lonesome chiefly U.S., Canad. gloomy, dismal, melancholy, forlorn, bereft, dejected, despondent, downcast, wretched, disconsolate, down in the dumps (informal) cheerless, comfortless, companionless << OPPOSITE happy

verb 3. deject, depress, distress, discourage, dismay, grieve, daunt, dishearten << OPPOSITE cheer

verb 4. destroy, ruin, devastate, ravage, lay low, lay waste, despoil, depopulate

Translations

desolate [ˈdɛsəlɪt] adj [place] → desierto; [person] → afligido

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desolate [ˈdɛsəlɪt] adj → désolé(e)

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desolate [ˈdɛsəlɪt] adj → trostlos

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desolate [ˈdɛsəlɪt] adj → desolato/a