des·o·late (d s -l t, d z -)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. (-l t ) 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.
[Middle English desolat, from Latin d s l tus, past participle of d s l re, to abandon : d -, de- + s lus, alone; see s(w)e- in Indo-European roots.]
des o·late·ly adv. des o·late·ness n. |
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
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms | Verb | 1. | desolate - leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch; "The mother deserted her children"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"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"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"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" |
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
Translations desolate [ˈdɛsəlɪt] adj [ place] → desierto; [ person] → afligido
desolate [ˈdɛsəlɪt] adj → désolé(e)
desolate [ˈdɛsəlɪt] adj → trostlos
desolate [ˈdɛsəlɪt] adj → desolato/a
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