desolateness

noun

Definition of desolatenessnext
1
as in melancholy

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words
2
as in bleakness

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for desolateness
  1. melancholy
  2. bleakness
  3. dreariness
  4. barrenness
  5. dejection
  6. nothingness
  7. oppression
  8. despair
Noun
  • Beneath all the sensuality and beauty, there’s also a lingering melancholy that feels very familiar to me.
    — Erik Pedersen, Oc Register, 16 June 2026
  • Don Hertzfeldt occasionally comes to mind for a similarly pervasive mood of questioning, philosophical melancholy.
    — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 12 June 2026
Definition of melancholy
Noun
  • The bleakness of those far northern isles, the punishing, incessant wind, the wild beauty of the land and rugged coastline are unforgettably conjured alongside her inner struggle to stay sober.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 19 Aug. 2026
  • The choice yields a brighter, richer, more varied and nuanced story in which coming-of-age tropes mingle with Gileadean bleakness to reveal new facets of a state premised on male supremacy.
    — Judy Berman, Time, 8 July 2026
Definition of bleakness
Noun
  • Jonestown afflicted Naipaul’s vision, his way of deciphering not just political manias but the dreariness of urban life, the perpetual doom of the nuclear-arms race.
    — Hua Hsu, New Yorker, 14 July 2026
  • Days shorten, shadows lengthen, and the cold and dreariness of winter return.
    — Thomas A. DuBois, The Conversation, 17 June 2026
Definition of dreariness
Noun
  • Shunammite, once so determined to get her period, is staring down the possibility of barrenness and, in Gilead, that means spinsterhood.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 27 May 2026
  • Clearly, her absurd office dredged its barrenness from her.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
Definition of barrenness
Noun
  • In the end, Gizelle’s team triumphs, prompting more dejection from Vicki.
    — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 17 Aug. 2026
  • This has been one of Norway’s great months and reaching the end of the line was as much cause for pride as dejection across the capital.
    — Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 12 July 2026
Definition of dejection
Noun
  • For some of us, this is a very counterintuitive notion, as the notion of things existing within and moving through some form of empty nothingness just doesn’t make any sense.
    — Big Think, Big Think, 7 May 2026
  • Emptied feels like a sudden gushing whoosh, then nothingness.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 May 2026
Definition of nothingness
Noun
  • Goodbye, Ramona, such a vivid and sweeping story of Catalan refusal to comply with this oppression, is a testament to how a language, just like the desire to be free or to love or to learn, simply cannot be contained.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The Tricontinental’s history offers a more nuanced and principled political position, one that opposes oppression in any form and that places self-determination for all people at the heart of its politics.
    — Anne Garland Mahler, The Conversation, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of oppression
Noun
  • Along with a brief moment of tenderness Sara experiences with her class’s resident dork, this feminine camaraderie makes for a nugget of niceness in a sea of despair.
    — Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Yet the film’s firmest punch is packed in the despair and dignity of Sul’s performance, as a man coming to terms with how much he’s lost.
    — David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of despair
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.

Browse Nearby Words

desolated
desolateness
desolates
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Desolateness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desolateness. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
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!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All