desolateness

noun

Definition of desolatenessnext
1
as in melancholy

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2
as in bleakness

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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 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
  • Harrison still evokes painterly fugues of light and pungent smells, but they’re offset by a growing bleakness, and there’s less humor.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 June 2026
Definition of bleakness
Noun
  • Days shorten, shadows lengthen, and the cold and dreariness of winter return.
    — Thomas A. DuBois, The Conversation, 17 June 2026
  • Valentine’s Day is like a sweet little respite from February dreariness.
    — Rebecca Norris, InStyle, 7 Feb. 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
  • 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
  • Four years later, there’s not a hint of complacency or dejection in France.
    — Rohan Nadkarni, NBC news, 4 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
  • The Oscar nominee stars as Wat Tyler, an ordinary peasant who steps up to lead an extraordinary fight against King Richard II after crushing taxes and political oppression push the country’s working class to a breaking point.
    — Sophie Miller, Rolling Stone, 16 July 2026
  • Born in present-day Serbia, Tana’s early life was marked by political oppression under Communist rule.
    — Maddie Connors, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2026
Definition of oppression
Noun
  • That sense of despair could be because the album captured the band in a state of crisis.
    — Sam Goldner, Pitchfork, 19 July 2026
  • Rayan Cherki captured the sense of shock and despair among the France players on a day when their World Cup dream died, in a 2-0 defeat to Spain that was as emphatic as the scoreline suggests.
    — Stuart James, New York Times, 18 July 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.

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Cite this Entry

“Desolateness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desolateness. Accessed 21 Jul. 2026.

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