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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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Recent Examples of desolate
Staff, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Feb. 2025
Colorado’s quadrant of the Four Corners is filled with secrets of the past in its rugged and sometimes desolate desert landscape.
—Jennifer Broome, The Denver Post, 11 Feb. 2025
In video after video, young people complained about missing their high school graduations and senior proms, of the desolate college campuses that welcomed them and the increasingly precarious economy that waited for them on the other side.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 14 Feb. 2025
The work follows two soldiers from opposing nations who are stationed at a shared barrack on a desolate border.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 13 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for desolate
Adjective
Orphaned at 3 years old and robbed of her fortune, she’s dragged aboard a ship sailing for New France by her guardian, only to be abandoned on a desolate island.
—Staff, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Feb. 2025
Colorado’s quadrant of the Four Corners is filled with secrets of the past in its rugged and sometimes desolate desert landscape.
—Jennifer Broome, The Denver Post, 11 Feb. 2025
In video after video, young people complained about missing their high school graduations and senior proms, of the desolate college campuses that welcomed them and the increasingly precarious economy that waited for them on the other side.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 14 Feb. 2025
The work follows two soldiers from opposing nations who are stationed at a shared barrack on a desolate border.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 13 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for desolate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for desolate
Adjective
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Even the relatively staid premiere stole a handful of grim chuckles thanks to its guest star’s exceedingly blasé delivery of impossibly bleak news.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
9 Mar. 2025
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However, experts have raised concerns about the health of the American economy, warning that the outlook for U.S. businesses and consumers may be bleak, a sentiment shared by many industry executives.—
Tommy Tuberville,
Newsweek,
7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Retirement has been described by many who struggle as being incredibly lonely.—
Lorraine Wiseman,
Forbes,
18 Mar. 2025
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The withdrawn San Francisco drama, about lonely nonbinary nanny and restaurant server Cass (Asia Kate Dillon), is simple in its presentation, but disguises numerous layers to its story.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
17 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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This is where the montage sequences get really aggressive, assaulting the viewer with imagery of barren alien landscapes and skulls with the flesh melting off of their faces.—
Katie Rife,
IndieWire,
12 Mar. 2025
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Even along the relatively mild coasts, where summer temperatures hover just below freezing, the land is a barren expanse of rock, ice and snow.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes,
8 Mar. 2025
Verb
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However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.—
Tanasia Kenney,
Miami Herald,
11 Mar. 2025
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Alli Jo adds that the kids left school to appear on the date with Grant and the ladies, so Zoe ruined their day, too.—
Kristen Baldwin,
EW.com,
11 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Los Angeles and San Diego, which have missed out on more than 5 inches of typical rain since October, should see soaking rain after dark.—
Mary Gilbert,
CNN,
11 Mar. 2025
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Boat Rocker’s slate currently comprises the likes of 1980s throwback dark comedy Video Nasty, drama series Mix Tape and Jesse Moss and Tony Gerber’s Sundance 2024 doc War Game.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
11 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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One of the most powerful scenes in Sugarcane takes place in a disused barn where, over a period of decades, Indigenous children worked under the lash.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
8 Feb. 2025
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McQueen spends half an hour dispassionately showing us the grimness of HMP Maze, a Troubles-era warehouse for enemies of the British state on a disused airfield.—
IndieWire Staff,
IndieWire,
12 Aug. 2024
Adjective
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The nuances of being the older sibling, and especially the eldest daughter of an impoverished, fractured or immigrant family, are beginning to gain more traction in mainstream media.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
12 Mar. 2025
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Kicking Margulis and Dyson out of polite scientific society for these consensus violations would have impoverished science.—
Ross Andersen,
The Atlantic,
12 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Residents of states that have been impacted by this weekend's storms have posted photos online showing their homes destroyed by the tornadoes, with roofs fallen completely off, walls caved in and debris on lawns.—
Brenton Blanchet,
People.com,
16 Mar. 2025
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Taking on the role of a teenage boy named Chrono, players have to travel through time and assemble a team to stop a horrifying creature named Lavos from destroying the world.—
Hayes Madsen,
Rolling Stone,
16 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Desolate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desolate. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.
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