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

• sadness
• melancholy
• depression
• sorrowfulness
• mournfulness
• sorrow
• anguish

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

While pestilence crept over the walls of cities and the countryside fell into desolation—many foreign conquerors of Europe knew how to fight and plunder but not to plow or sow—the monks preserved words. —Bernd Roeck june 16, Literary Hub, 16 June 2025

She’s found the desolation isn’t limited to Grand Central Market. —Stephanie Breijo, Los Angeles Times, 13 June 2025

Visit the Less-Trafficked Side While the oceanside of Jockey’s Ridge’s claim to fame is the dunes, which mimic the desolation of the desert, the Roanoke Sound border of the park on the western side is just the opposite. —Jennifer Prince, Southern Living, 30 May 2025

The photos below capture the desperation of people with nowhere to go, the absence of infrastructure to help them, the desolation of the empty desert. —Lynsey Addario, The Atlantic, 12 May 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