desolation

noun

des·​o·​la·​tion ˌde-sə-ˈlā-shən 

ˌde-zə-

1

: the action of desolating

the pitiful desolation and slaughter of World War I

—D. F. Fleming

2

a

: grief, sadness

… he put his trembling hands to his head, and gave a wild ringing scream, the cry of desolation.

—George Eliot

b

: loneliness

3

: devastation, ruin

a scene of utter desolation

4

: barren wasteland

looked out across the desolation

Synonyms

• blue devils
• blues
• dejection
• depression
• despond
• despondence
• despondency
• disconsolateness
• dispiritedness
• doldrums
• dolefulness
• downheartedness
• dreariness
• dumps
• forlornness
• gloom
• gloominess
• glumness
• heartsickness
• joylessness
• melancholy
• miserableness
• mopes
• mournfulness
• oppression
• sadness
• sorrowfulness
• unhappiness

Examples of desolation in a Sentence

She sank into a state of desolation and despair.

photos that show the desolation of war

Recent Examples on the Web

This week, Morgan Wallen and Post Malone pair up again for a new collaboration, while Sam Barber offers up a song of blistering song of desolation. —Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 21 Apr. 2025

From this desolation arose the Messianic faith of Christianity, which, after the conversion of the Emperor Constantine in 312, eventually became the Roman Empire’s sole state religion. —Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 24 Mar. 2025

Even the influx of people has done little to alleviate the sense of desolation and emptiness. —Taylor Luck, The Christian Science Monitor, 25 Mar. 2025

Where is the message that can pull them out of the depths of desolation? —Laura Washington, Chicago Tribune, 12 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English desolacion, desolacioun "state of distress or hardship, feeling of distress, affliction," borrowed from Anglo-French & Late Latin; Anglo-French desolacion, borrowed from Late Latin dēsōlātiōn-, dēsōlātiō "abandonment, solitude," from Latin dēsōlāre "to leave all alone, forsake, empty of inhabitants" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at desolate entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for desolation

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation

Kids Definition

desolation

noun

des·​o·​la·​tion ˌdes-ə-ˈlā-shən 

ˌdez-

1

: the action of desolating

2

: sadness resulting from grief or loneliness

3

: the condition of being desolated : ruin

4

: lifeless land