1
as in bleak
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer
a desolate house abandoned many years ago
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in lonely
sad from lack of companionship or separation from others
he was less desolate after adopting a rescue dog
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3
as in deserted
left unoccupied or unused
a desolate mining town that had its brief heyday more than a century ago
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4
as in barren
producing inferior or only a small amount of vegetation
wild, desolate plains on which only the hardiest could survive
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as in to ruin
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of
totally desolated the city with aerial bombs
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of desolate
Dominique Fluker, Essence, 15 Apr. 2025
This sci-fi follows a group of four women – an anthropologist, a surveyor, a psychologist and a biologist – on an expedition to map and observe Area X. All other journeys into the overgrown, desolate island have ended in disaster or death.
—Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 12 Apr. 2025
A lot of people have this idea of the north as being cold and desolate, and maybe people, once upon a time, lived up there, but don't anymore.
—Dana Feldman, Forbes.com, 22 Apr. 2025
The Memphis rapper began the show with dramatics, rising on a giant platform with her back to the audience as a screen behind her projected the image of a desolate street.
—John Lonsdale, Rolling Stone, 12 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for desolate
Adjective
As a result of the hurricane, those communities were left desolate.
—Dominique Fluker, Essence, 15 Apr. 2025
This sci-fi follows a group of four women – an anthropologist, a surveyor, a psychologist and a biologist – on an expedition to map and observe Area X. All other journeys into the overgrown, desolate island have ended in disaster or death.
—Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 12 Apr. 2025
A lot of people have this idea of the north as being cold and desolate, and maybe people, once upon a time, lived up there, but don't anymore.
—Dana Feldman, Forbes.com, 22 Apr. 2025
The Memphis rapper began the show with dramatics, rising on a giant platform with her back to the audience as a screen behind her projected the image of a desolate street.
—John Lonsdale, Rolling Stone, 12 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for desolate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for desolate
Adjective
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The somewhat bleak outlook was laid bare Tuesday night after the USMNT was thrashed 4-0 by Switzerland during a friendly in Nashville.—
Ben Church,
CNN Money,
11 June 2025
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Instead of learning from this bleak recent history, Americans are now painfully absorbing this lesson by repeating it.—
Jonathan Haskel,
Foreign Affairs,
10 June 2025
Adjective
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As found in the survey, adults who experience daily loneliness are nearly five times more likely to rate their current life poorly compared to those who aren’t lonely.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
9 June 2025
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Skeletal branches created a cathedral over the lonely vehicle where the 64-year-old man had breathed his last, the winter-gray river placid in the background behind a ramble of fences.—
Brenna Ehrlich,
Rolling Stone,
8 June 2025
Adjective
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For many of the faithful, the pilgrimage begins at a sacred mud volcano rising from the barren landscape near the Makran Coastal Highway.—
Zia ur-Rehman Asim Hafeez,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
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The festival was deliberately planned for the barren weeks in June after college students left and before the summer concert and festival season kicked in.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
25 May 2025
Verb
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The front nine, which has ruined more than a handful of U.S. Open rounds over the last two days, proved to be much tougher.—
Troy Finnegan,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 June 2025
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However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.—
Sara Schilling,
Miami Herald,
13 June 2025
Adjective
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Named for the distinctive dark stripes running across the back of its head, this medium-sized goose is specially adapted for one of the most extreme migrations in the animal kingdom.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
15 June 2025
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White, pale blue, gray, and green swimsuits can be some of the hardest swimsuits to spot in a pool, while darker colors, like navy and black, can be difficult to detect in open water.—
Amelia McBride,
Travel + Leisure,
15 June 2025
Adjective
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On his release, Stern went on to spend the 1950s ping-ponging between New York and California, for a time living on a disused laundry barge in Sausalito.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
3 Mar. 2025
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One of the most powerful scenes in Sugarcane takes place in a disused barn where, over a period of decades, Indigenous children worked under the lash.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
8 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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In Zimbabwe, the Catholic Church operates about 100 schools, ranging from dozens in impoverished areas where annual tuition is as low as $150 to elite boarding schools that can charge thousands of dollars.—
Rodney Muhumuza,
Los Angeles Times,
9 June 2025
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Some government functions were eviscerated, such as the U.S. Agency for International Development, which had provided a lifeline for impoverished people around the world.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
31 May 2025
Verb
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If trillion-dollar bonds are required to contest trillion-dollar damages our government is causing, that destroys the protections our Constitution provides its citizens against the rule of tyrants.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
8 June 2025
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The first move for a mistrial from Combs’ legal team occurred at the end of May, after prosecutors asked Los Angeles Fire Department arson investigator Lance Jimenez if fingerprint evidence related to the bombing of Kid Cudi's car had been destroyed.—
Toria Sheffield,
People.com,
8 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Desolate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desolate. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.
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