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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in barren
producing inferior or only a small amount of vegetation
wild, desolate plains on which only the hardiest could survive
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of desolate
Robb Report Studio, Robb Report, 6 June 2025
The march of technology insures that every new go-round leaves us even more desolate than the last one.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 28 May 2025
But that is how futile and how desolate Tuesday felt.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 May 2025
When The Last of Us premiered back in 2023, there was massive chatter surrounding Pascal and his penchant for rescuing desolate children in TV shows.
—Stephanie Sengwe, People.com, 25 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for desolate
Adjective
Her 12-day flight included crossing the rugged Ural Mountains and desolate Siberian wastes, while navigating with only a map and compass.
—Robb Report Studio, Robb Report, 6 June 2025
The march of technology insures that every new go-round leaves us even more desolate than the last one.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 28 May 2025
But that is how futile and how desolate Tuesday felt.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 May 2025
When The Last of Us premiered back in 2023, there was massive chatter surrounding Pascal and his penchant for rescuing desolate children in TV shows.
—Stephanie Sengwe, People.com, 25 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for desolate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for desolate
Adjective
-
Some traders said the numbers were less severe than analysts' bleak forecasts.—
Sabrina Valle,
USA Today,
3 July 2025
-
No one is as funny and as bleak in the same sentence, or maybe even the same word.—
Literary Hub
July 1,
Literary Hub,
1 July 2025
Adjective
-
While Bowie envisioned an Earth careening toward apocalypse in a flamboyant, theatrical cry, Drake’s five leaves are quieter, lonelier — more like the end of a season than the end of a world.—
arkansasonline.com,
arkansasonline.com,
5 July 2025
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By January, Musk had transitioned to lieutenant, making up DOGE, complete with cringey swag, like a lonely preteen dreaming up a secret club in his tree house.—
Anita Chabria,
Los Angeles Times,
1 July 2025
Adjective
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Work and plans are changing what was once a barren landscape into a new neighborhood.—
Kenneth R. Gosselin,
Hartford Courant,
29 June 2025
-
As the moon progresses through the different phases of the lunar calendar, the sun's light throws new impact sites, barren plains, and swathes of broken landscapes into relief as prime targets for amateur astronomers wielding binoculars and backyard telescopes.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
21 June 2025
Verb
-
Now a wonderful memory of the occasion will be ruined in my memories.—
Eric Thomas,
Sun Sentinel,
9 July 2025
-
The ceiling was now on the floor, the world had turned itself upside down, her outfit and her day and her rug were seemingly ruined—and yet she herself was not hurt.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 July 2025
Adjective
-
The duo stepped out in complementary dark ensembles, with Hayek wearing one of her favorite footwear looks — hefty platform heels — with a black velvet dress.—
Jaden Thompson,
Footwear News,
9 July 2025
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My perspective always seems a bit darker and less hopeful.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
9 July 2025
Adjective
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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
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Many are located in impoverished barrios dominated by criminals — who are now demanding a cut of their tuition fees.—
John Otis,
NPR,
7 July 2025
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The ignorant need cultural immersion at the American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora, which tells the story of those who fled the Cuban island that went from a free, prosperous republic to an oppressive, impoverished dictatorship within a single generation.—
Luka Ladan,
New York Daily News,
5 July 2025
Verb
-
In September 2024, the same month as the pager attack and assassination of Hezbollah’s leader, Israel launched the most extensive campaign of airstrikes in the air force’s history hitherto, destroying much of Hezbollah’s strategic surface-to-surface missile stockpiles.—
Paul Iddon,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
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This is the signature style of Russian killers — to destroy life by all methods at their disposal.—
Anders Hagstrom,
FOXNews.com,
30 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Desolate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desolate. Accessed 15 Jul. 2025.
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