deserted 1 of 2

deserted

2 of 2

verb

past tense of desert

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of deserted
Adjective
Vargas nodded at the nearly deserted river. Daniel Gonzalez, USA Today, 9 Nov. 2025 Except for a few children kicking a ball and some chickens pecking the ground, the village seemed almost deserted. Daniel Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 5 Nov. 2025 Inside deserted clapboard farmsteads, palatial Antebellum-era plantation houses and maximalist Queen Anne-style structures, Sansivero has discovered many residences that were never emptied, offering a portal into another life. Jacqui Palumbo, CNN Money, 3 Nov. 2025 The streets below looked deserted. Simon Shuster, Time, 23 Oct. 2025 Just past the cattle-ranching town of Bridgeport in northern California, near the border of Nevada, this deserted mining community is frozen in time along its dusty desert road. Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 18 Oct. 2025 To summarize, the protagonist, lost in hopeless days, eventually stumbles upon a deserted dance hall. Billboard Japan, Billboard, 17 Oct. 2025 Other activities include surfing excursions, where serious wave riders can visit multiple breaks, or a Robinson Crusoe Experience, during which guests head out on a boat to catch their lunch, which is then barbecued and served with prosecco on a nearby deserted beach. Katie Lockhart, Travel + Leisure, 17 Oct. 2025 Raimi’s new film, which hits theaters in January and released its first trailer today, is a psychological thriller set on a deserted island in which two co-workers (Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien) are stranded together after a plane crash. Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 14 Oct. 2025
Verb
The names of the betrayersare a secret carefully guarded by Cacique and the group called Caribe, a loose grouping of about 3,000 Venezuelan military personnel who have deserted the regime’s ranks and from abroad are trying to coordinate to overthrow Maduro. Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 7 Nov. 2025 The tables were empty and the bar deserted, the only sign of life the clank and swish of dishes being washed in the back, through the swinging double doors. Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025 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 Bad weather, fires, and mining accidents also claimed lives, and eventually Bodie was deserted. Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 18 Oct. 2025 The story centers on a man who travels to Pontianak carrying his deceased sister’s remains, hoping to honor her dying wishes while tracking down the father who deserted them. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 9 Oct. 2025 In Cameroon, so many skilled officers have deserted from the military to fight for Russia in Ukraine for up to $3,000 a month, that in March, the Cameroonian government instituted a ban on uniformed men from leaving the country. Alia Brahimi, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025 Advertisement Advertisement The numbers are catching up to a story being told by locals and visitors for several months now, of an eerily empty Vegas Strip and deserted casino floors. Solcyré Burga, Time, 13 Aug. 2025 From hotels to theme parks to jails, the Bluegrass State has deserted sites galore. Keely Doll, Louisville Courier Journal, 8 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deserted
Adjective
  • Thousands of abandoned and derelict vessels around the US pose environmental and navigational challenges.
    Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 12 Aug. 2025
  • The 33 towns being considered for this project, which are expected to meet final approval in the coming weeks, are all on the brink of extinction with the number of empty and abandoned houses outnumbering those that are inhabited.
    Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN, 21 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Still, this is early days, and there have been similar drugs which looked promising at the beginning but were later rejected due to safety concerns, Nadar said.
    Sandee LaMotte, CNN Money, 8 Nov. 2025
  • That can feel quite personal, and maybe the parents feel rejected too.
    Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 8 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • Colonial Pipeline said its network had been accessed via a compromised password that was linked to a disused virtual private networking account used for remote access.
    Charlotte Reck, CNN Money, 9 Nov. 2025
  • The venue was a disused Anglican church where Lediņš had been hosting a discothèque.
    Alex Ross, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • But here, stranded alongside Bradley Cooper (who has the same deer-in-headlights look), she’s completely lost as a Depression-era woman who goes mad after losing a child and directs her fury at a woman who had an illegitimate son with her husband years earlier.
    Tim Grierson, Vulture, 8 Nov. 2025
  • Researchers hypothesize that Earhart did not crash at sea, but instead landed and was stranded on Nikumaroro Island, later perishing there.
    Ashley J. DiMella, FOXNews.com, 7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • The Irvines’ son died in the crash, and Peter used the cover of the most inexplicably desolate street in Chicago to switch his body for Carrie’s healthy son while the two women lay unconscious.
    Hunter Ingram, Variety, 8 Nov. 2025
  • Almost always surrounded by bare, desolate mountains.
    Joe Baur, Outside, 31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Officials believe the fire started in the occupied home and spread to the vacant home next door.
    Noelle Alviz-Gransee, Kansas City Star, 9 Nov. 2025
  • No public update on the project has been released since 2023, and the land remains vacant.
    Verónica Egui Brito, Miami Herald, 7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • Though government incentives have seen many old-school properties across Italy converted into high-end stays, most historic residences remain in private hands, including a derelict villa in Puglia transformed into a chic home, a 17th-century apartment in Tuscany, and an 18th-century home in Sicily.
    Tori Latham, Robb Report, 29 Oct. 2025
  • The derelict Toronto Postal Service Centre, now Scotiabank Arena, was on the eastern end of Bremner Boulevard, the street that connects the two buildings.
    Eric Koreen, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Cunha would drop into deeper positions, looking to trap any second balls won, before moving into vacated space.
    The Athletic UK Staff, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
  • Sharkey revisited the empty and vacated facility in February 2018 and again in 2022 to document how Evan Morrison continues White Oak’s tradition of producing selvedge denim on old Draper X-3 looms.
    Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 21 Oct. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Deserted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deserted. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on deserted

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!