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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of desolate
ABC News,
17 June 2026
Taulant Bino stands along a desolate dirt road surrounded on both sides by wetland.
—
Rob Schmitz,
NPR,
16 June 2026
The flyer featured a photograph of the 31-year-old singer-songwriter on a desolate small-town street, behind the wheel of a vintage turquoise vehicle.
—
Angie Martoccio,
Rolling Stone,
15 June 2026
Just under 300,000 years from the moment Homo sapiens appeared in Africa, the species had encircled Earth, mastering desolate deserts and frozen wastelands and all the temperate climes in between.
—
Cody Cottier,
Scientific American,
4 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for desolate
Adjective
Most of the women disappeared between 2000 and 2010, and most of their remains were found on a desolate parkway not far from Long Island’s Gilgo Beach, some 50 miles (80 kilometers) from Manhattan.
—
ABC News,
17 June 2026
Taulant Bino stands along a desolate dirt road surrounded on both sides by wetland.
—
Rob Schmitz,
NPR,
16 June 2026
The flyer featured a photograph of the 31-year-old singer-songwriter on a desolate small-town street, behind the wheel of a vintage turquoise vehicle.
—
Angie Martoccio,
Rolling Stone,
15 June 2026
Just under 300,000 years from the moment Homo sapiens appeared in Africa, the species had encircled Earth, mastering desolate deserts and frozen wastelands and all the temperate climes in between.
—
Cody Cottier,
Scientific American,
4 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for desolate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for desolate
Adjective
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Houssem Aouar finally spied a gap in the Austrian defence and sent Mahrez through to score, sparking jubilation before Sasa Kalajdzic’s header confirmed a ridiculous ending to a game that was dramatic, bleak and then dramatic again.
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Kehoe pointed to the state’s bleak finances in a statement explaining his cuts on Tuesday.
Adjective
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His lonely life away from friends Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) included sleeping under the stairs.
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Thrown into the thick of a ballet season, the dancer explained that there wasn’t time to be lonely.
Adjective
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Once all but deserted, the town experienced a revival in 1965, when artists and musicians began to flock there after encouragement from the Yugoslav government.
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Security video reportedly shows Carman entering a condominium hand in hand with the teen, then later leaving alone, hauling a large suitcase toward a deserted area alongside the railway.
Adjective
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The fires eviscerated many of the plants and trees in and around the burn zones, leaving behind barren lots and charred swaths of parkland.
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There are quite a few interesting options this summer, especially compared to last year’s barren goalie landscape that was headlined by veteran backups.
Verb
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However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.
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After all, plenty of cocktail enthusiasts already complain about mosquitoes ruining a summer evening.
Adjective
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The top-of-the-line chef’s kitchen sports metallic cabinetry paired with dark marble countertops and backsplashes.
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These include rolled or folded leaf blades, a dark or blue tinge to the foliage, or lingering footprints after walking on the lawn.
Adjective
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In December last year, fashion designer Matthieu Blazy debuted his first Métiers d’Art collection for Chanel against the backdrop of a vintage train, which pulled into a disused subway station in downtown Manhattan.
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His trilogy is, likewise, a straphangers’ gallery of metropolitan oddballs, from Zippo, a pyromaniac turned blaxploitation filmmaker, to Uncle Rich, a master criminal who stages a daring raid on the Waldorf-Astoria from a disused train tunnel with the help of a homeless army.
Adjective
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This British drama series follows a woman named Emma over the course of more than six decades of her life, from the 1900s through the 1970s, working her way from impoverished maid to the world’s richest woman.
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Known as a Neglected Tropical Disease because of the lack of funding to fight it, schistosomiasis is a serious challenge for impoverished communities.
Cite this Entry
“Desolate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desolate. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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