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desolate

 - 3 dictionary results

des⋅o⋅late

  [adj. des-uh-lit; v. des-uh-leyt] adjective, verb, -lat⋅ed, -lat⋅ing.
Use desolate in a Sentence
–adjective
1. barren or laid waste; devastated: a treeless, desolate landscape.
2. deprived or destitute of inhabitants; deserted; uninhabited.
3. solitary; lonely: a desolate place.
4. having the feeling of being abandoned by friends or by hope; forlorn.
5. dreary; dismal; gloomy: desolate prospects.
–verb (used with object)
6. to lay waste; devastate.
7. to deprive of inhabitants; depopulate.
8. to make disconsolate.
9. to forsake or abandon.
Origin:
1325–75; ME < L dēsōlātus forsaken, ptp. of dēsōlāre, equiv. to dē- de- + sōlāre to make lonely, deriv. of sōlus sole 1 ; see -ate 1

Related forms:
des⋅o⋅late⋅ly, adverb
des⋅o⋅late⋅ness, noun
des⋅o⋅lat⋅er, des⋅o⋅la⋅tor, noun

Synonyms:
1. ravaged. 2. desert. 4. lonesome, lost; miserable, wretched, woebegone, woeful, inconsolable, cheerless, hopeless. Desolate, disconsolate, forlorn suggest one who is in a sad and wretched condition. The desolate person is deprived of human consolation, relationships, or presence: desolate and despairing. The disconsolate person is aware of the efforts of others to console and comfort, but is unable to be relieved or cheered by them: She remained disconsolate even in the midst of friends. The forlorn person is lost, deserted, or forsaken by friends: wretched and forlorn in a strange city. 6. ravage, ruin. 8. sadden, depress. 9. desert.

Antonyms:
4. delighted, happy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To desolate
des·o·late   (děs'ə-lĭt, děz'-)   
adj.  

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

    2. 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.   (-lāt') 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 dēsōlātus, past participle of dēsōlāre, to abandon : dē-, de- + sōlus, alone; see s(w)e- in Indo-European roots.]
des'o·late·ly adv., des'o·late·ness n., des'o·lat'er, des'o·la'tor n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

desolate 
c.1374, "without companions," also "uninhabited," from L. desolatus, pp. of desolare "leave alone, desert," from de- "completely" + solare "make lonely." Sense of "joyless" is 15c.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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