1
as in melancholy
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2
as in bleakness
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for desolateness
Noun
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An aura of melancholy does not stop Madvillainy from being endlessly joyful and playful.—
Pitchfork,
Pitchfork,
30 Sep. 2025 -
But even here, the ache of the lovers’ separation registers with only a muffled sense of melancholy.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
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In Pynchon’s best works, his bleakness is brightened, in both senses—illuminated and made lighter—by the sweep of his vision and his affection for his fallible, foolhardy, well-meaning, wildly outmatched main characters.—
Kathryn Schulz,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
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The campaign has already exceeded its goal by more than $38,000 dollars, with six days to go, proving no amount of dystopian bleakness will deter true Black Mirror fans.—
Leslie Katz,
Forbes.com,
14 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Self-awareness and community are marvelous antidotes to the barrenness of conformity.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
31 Aug. 2025
Noun
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So, too, was the ecstasy at which City celebrated their equally exhilarating 3-2 victory over Arsenal, their joy at odds with the dejection of the Arsenal players who had twice clawed their way back to parity but failed to hold on.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
5 Oct. 2025
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Ferran is just as compelling when such vibrancy and vitality gives way to dejection and disharmony as her aspiring writing career grinds to a halt and her health starts to deteriorate.—
Jon O'Brien,
IndieWire,
2 May 2025
Noun
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This would not have been a serious consideration midway through Newcastle’s 2-0 win against struggling, flailing Nottingham Forest — the nothingness of half-time was like a blessed relief — but a stodgy, slow-burning afternoon concluded with Howe’s team comfortable and edging towards dominance.—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
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Eckhardt’s commentaries on God and scripture are dense and recursive, breaking ideas into component parts, placing them onto higher and lower planes, making hierarchies and triads out of them until eventually becoming something like an investigation into being and nothingness themselves.—
Jon Raymond
August 5,
Literary Hub,
5 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Russians have endured too much government oppression for too long.—
Nina Khrushcheva,
Time,
3 Oct. 2025
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Commerce Department sanctions on iFLYTEK came into force in 2019 over its alleged role in the oppression of Muslims in China’s far-western Xinjiang region using high-technology surveillance.—
Matthew Tostevin,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Maybe there will come a time when Reid is comfortable publicly sharing stories about his sister and the despair the family has endured with her loss.—
Jon Krawczynski,
New York Times,
30 Sep. 2025
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But the show's greatest asset is its stars, whose endearing real-life friendship pierces through the play’s inherent despair.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Some were convinced Brown was going to demand a trade given his unhappiness with the current offense, but Patullo's words of encouragement suggest otherwise.—
Hunter Simpson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Sep. 2025
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The latest, quiet cracking, is a persistent feeling of unhappiness, underappreciation, and overwork that’s spreading among employees.—
Aytekin Tank,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Desolateness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desolateness. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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