Desolater

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.

---

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

---

deso·late·ly adv.

deso·late·ness n.

deso·later, deso·lator n.