as in barren
land that is uninhabited or not fit for crops
we were lost in the desert for days without food
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in discipline
usually deserts plural
suffering, loss, or hardship imposed in response to a crime or offense
the robbers got their just deserts
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to abandon
to leave (a cause or party) often in order to take up another
the volunteer became disillusioned with his candidate and deserted to a political rival
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to leave
to cause to remain behind
deserted the kids at the food court for some independent shopping
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in arid
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of desert
Mick Krever, CNN Money, 6 Nov. 2025
The Arizona town boasts miles of bike trails and desert landscapes.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 6 Nov. 2025
Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2025
District 5 stretches east from Oceanside through San Marcos and Vista out to desert communities like Borrego Springs.
—Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Oct. 2025
David Faris, Newsweek, 2 Feb. 2025
The temporary ban applies to areas within the South Coast Air Basin, which includes Orange County and non-desert portions of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, according to a news release from the agency.
—Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Times, 18 Dec. 2022
See All Example Sentences for desert
Noun
Three years ago, two Sudanese men stumbled into a police station in the desert town of Tazirbu.
—Mick Krever, CNN Money, 6 Nov. 2025
The Arizona town boasts miles of bike trails and desert landscapes.
—Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 6 Nov. 2025
Verb
The entire neighborhood was thus deserted, with its infrastructure entirely devastated—no water networks, no electricity, and no communication or internet.
—Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2025
District 5 stretches east from Oceanside through San Marcos and Vista out to desert communities like Borrego Springs.
—Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Oct. 2025
Adjective
The South Coast Air Basin includes Orange County and non-desert portions of Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 2 Feb. 2025
The temporary ban applies to areas within the South Coast Air Basin, which includes Orange County and non-desert portions of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, according to a news release from the agency.
—Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Times, 18 Dec. 2022
See All Example Sentences for desert
Recent Examples of Synonyms for desert
Verb
-
His car was later found abandoned, and authorities began searching the area.—
Ryan Canfield,
FOXNews.com,
7 Nov. 2025
-
To garrison those vulnerable treasure houses, Britain had to reassign regiments from tours of duty in North America and abandon Philadelphia, the biggest prize the redcoats had taken so far.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Even leaving these facts aside, neither the doctrinaire socialism nor militant Islam have ever improved any place on earth, and New York City will not be the first.—
Newsweek Contributors,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
-
To keep her safe Hekate’s mother leaves her in the underworld with the goddess Styx and Hades.—
Amber McBride,
Literary Hub,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
During the era of the late Cretaceous, the land that now sits in modern-day Egypt was far from an arid desert.—
Irene Wright,
Miami Herald,
31 Oct. 2025
-
The rugged terrain and semi-arid setting mean that carrying sufficient water in the outdoors is essential.—
Jasmine Laws,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
And the British nations, as ever, remained aloof, England rejecting a late offer to step in for Austria.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Democrats are pushing to extend soon-to-expire health care tax credits and reverse earlier Medicaid cuts, but Republicans have rejected those proposals.—
Aliss Higham,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Being buried in dry science explainers is part of what makes those concepts—nonlocality, entanglement, black hole gravity—difficult to understand.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Nov. 2025
-
The best months are usually July and August, when the water warms enough for dry-fly-fishing but the cutthroat are still hungry after the long, cold spring.—
Outside,
Outside,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
After occupying Sinai, Britain and France succumbed to international pressure and withdrew their forces from Egypt in November.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
-
In 2008, the American Academy of Pediatrics withdrew its guidance that said potential allergens should be avoided for high-risk babies, but didn’t have enough data to recommend introducing them early.—
Meg Tirrell,
CNN Money,
3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
While urban areas like Los Angeles are under mandatory drought restrictions to reduce strain on state reservoirs, many rural residents reliant on groundwater wells are waterless.—
Tribune Content Agency,
oregonlive,
27 Nov. 2022
-
Other eco-friendly measures include a solid waste incinerator to turn waste into non-toxic ash and a waterless urinal to reduce unnecessary usage.—
Camille Fine,
USA TODAY,
22 Aug. 2022
Adjective
-
Plot details are very hazy, but the word on the street is that the story centers on a ne’er-do-well smuggler who finds himself in the middle of a deadly double-cross while on a job in the Caribbean Sea, resulting in him surrounded by bodies, hostile mercenaries and thirsty sharks alike.—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
31 Oct. 2025
-
Newsom is widely reviled here for cutting back on oil drilling and not prioritizing new reservoirs to store water for thirsty farms.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
30 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Desert.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desert. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
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