1
as in bleak
causing or marked by an atmosphere lacking in cheer
a desolate house abandoned many years ago
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Apr. 2025
The Desert Inn dominated a desolate place that used to be called Jackass Junction, for the donkeys that once crossed the road.
—Jeff Kleinman, Miami Herald, 1 Apr. 2025
After an intense manhunt, authorities found his Nissan Versa in a desolate section of Glenn Highway.
—Kc Baker, People.com, 31 Mar. 2025
But my subject here is not those desolate and terrible hinterlands of parenthood.
—Kathryn Schulz, New Yorker, 29 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for desolate
Adjective
The scientific community calls these cold, desolate bodies rogue planets.
—Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Apr. 2025
The Desert Inn dominated a desolate place that used to be called Jackass Junction, for the donkeys that once crossed the road.
—Jeff Kleinman, Miami Herald, 1 Apr. 2025
After an intense manhunt, authorities found his Nissan Versa in a desolate section of Glenn Highway.
—Kc Baker, People.com, 31 Mar. 2025
But my subject here is not those desolate and terrible hinterlands of parenthood.
—Kathryn Schulz, New Yorker, 29 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for desolate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for desolate
Adjective
-
This bleak vision of Hollywood makes for a fascinating backdrop.—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
5 May 2025
-
But Trump and his aides are now actively trying to impede this reporting and intimidate news outlets, creating a bleak backdrop to the UN’s recognition of Saturday as World Press Freedom Day.—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
3 May 2025
Adjective
-
Health officials have said the United States is facing a mental health crisis, and in 2023, nearly 1 in 4 adults around the world reported feeling fairly or very lonely.—
Madeline Holcombe,
CNN Money,
17 May 2025
-
Similarly, a cat was sent to a shelter after 10 years in a home after his owner passed away, leaving him lonely and searching for a new home.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 May 2025
Adjective
-
In the early 1900s, Jennie Butchart transformed the scarred land of a barren limestone quarry into a lush retreat, proving nature’s resilience.—
Cheryl Russell,
Oc Register,
11 May 2025
-
The inky ocean depths are often assumed to be barren, but this is a myth, said Adrian Glover, a deep-sea ocean scientist at the UK’s Natural History Museum.—
Laura Paddison,
CNN Money,
8 May 2025
Verb
-
However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.—
Daniella Segura,
Sacbee.com,
9 May 2025
-
Sonos is very, very sorry for ruining your speaker system.—
Boone Ashworth,
Wired News,
9 May 2025
Adjective
-
But there are others worth your time, including Netflix's surprisingly dark — if equally engrossing — TV series which premiered in March 2017.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
EW.com,
10 May 2025
-
The whiskey is powerful on the nose, with bold aromas of dark brown sugar, mesquite smoke, saddle leather, and vanilla bean.—
Joseph V Micallef,
Forbes.com,
10 May 2025
Adjective
-
On his release, Stern went on to spend the 1950s ping-ponging between New York and California, for a time living on a disused laundry barge in Sausalito.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
3 Mar. 2025
-
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
Adjective
-
Infectious disease experts note that the vitamin is most useful in impoverished countries where children are significantly malnourished.—
Katherine Dillinger,
CNN Money,
1 May 2025
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In the meantime, the new administrators warn that the Kennedy Center is impoverished, that the facility has become shoddy and that some of its programming ill serves the American ideal.—
Mark Swed,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Apr. 2025
Verb
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An embarrassing, humbling, shocking Game 5 defeat showed that. All the same problems, the ones that destroyed Leaf team after Leaf team and ultimately ended Sheldon Keefe’s time as head coach, are emerging again at the worst possible time.—
Jonas Siegel,
New York Times,
15 May 2025
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In order to retrieve the original source code of the Entity and destroy it, Hunt has to risk life and limb and dive into icy arctic waters to a sunken Soviet submarine teetering 500 feet underwater.—
Anne Thompson,
IndieWire,
15 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Desolate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desolate. Accessed 22 May. 2025.
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