1
as in sadness
a state or spell of low spirits
his desolation after his twin brother died was incurable
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
3
as in disrepair
the state of being unattended to or not cared for
the desolation of the abandoned garden
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in devastation
the state or fact of being rendered nonexistent, physically unsound, or useless
the nuclear attack resulted in a scene of utter desolation
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of desolation
The desolation of the desert scared off many settlers at the time, leaving Arizona less populated for quite a while.
—
Paige Moore, AZCentral.com, 13 Feb. 2026
During the Great Depression, the mansions saved the city from complete desolation when local garden clubs created an antebellum tourism industry virtually out of thin air.
—Joe Sills, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Vartkessian renders them neither clinically nor sensationally—a fine line to walk—and cherry-picking details for this review feels grossly reductive, like a thumbnail sketch of a scene of desolation.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
Maradona managed to unite in desolation a country deeply divided.
—Esteban Campanela, CNN Money, 25 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for desolation
Paige Moore, AZCentral.com, 13 Feb. 2026
During the Great Depression, the mansions saved the city from complete desolation when local garden clubs created an antebellum tourism industry virtually out of thin air.
—Joe Sills, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Vartkessian renders them neither clinically nor sensationally—a fine line to walk—and cherry-picking details for this review feels grossly reductive, like a thumbnail sketch of a scene of desolation.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
Maradona managed to unite in desolation a country deeply divided.
—Esteban Campanela, CNN Money, 25 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for desolation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for desolation
Noun
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Relieved of their blindfolds, the men now wore heavy rucksacks filled with colored rocks representing their anger (red), guilt and shame (black), and sadness (blue).—
Charles Bethea,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
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Reaction to the news Monday that the Connecticut Sun WNBA team is officially being moved to Houston was of sadness and regret in Connecticut, especially amongst those who had tried to keep the professional women’s basketball team in the state over the last year.—
Lori Riley,
Hartford Courant,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Neither will there necessarily be a dramatic Promethean demonstration, a bomb flash in the desert, a satellite beeping overhead, a moon landing.—
Ross Andersen,
The Atlantic,
27 Mar. 2026
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One study found that as many as 44 percent of Connecticut families live in a child care desert.—
Josette Walters,
Hartford Courant,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Neighbors said the longtime owner had died and the building fell into further disrepair after that.—
Rocco Parascandola,
New York Daily News,
25 Mar. 2026
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Now located on Santa Barbara Drive, the 1970s-era building has become difficult to use, and department personnel are dealing with frequent disruptions and disrepair, such as a recent electrical fire and sewage backups, officials said.—
Erika I. Ritchie,
Oc Register,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
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AccuWeather expects the Western Caribbean to be the most vulnerable, especially following the devastation brought by Category 5 Hurricane Melissa in 2025 to Jamaica and Cuba.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
25 Mar. 2026
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The consequences of that sabotage added to the environmental devastation wreaked by the oil multinationals.—
Noo Saro-Wiwa,
The Dial,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The film’s empathetic interest in individual, often eccentric human lives gives it a warmth that overrides the underlying melancholy of the material, making for a pleasingly unsentimental crowdpleaser.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
24 Mar. 2026
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Some acknowledged the possibility that melancholy could be inherited.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The Sacramento County Parks Department says there's been a big increase in vandalism and destruction of the nature preserve due to unauthorized use of off-road bicycles and e-bikes.—
James Taylor,
CBS News,
31 Mar. 2026
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After the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory’s focus is on her mom, her sisters and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on.—
Ashlee Conour,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Growing up on a farm in Wabasha, Minnesota, one of 18 children, Bea milked cows and attended a one-room schoolhouse during the great depression.—
Irene Gonzalez,
CBS News,
30 Mar. 2026
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Hoang models the potential sales of these drugs by using Johnson & Johnson's Spravato, an intranasal ketamine derivative first approved to address treatment-resistant depression in 2019 , as a case study.—
Davis Giangiulio,
CNBC,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Working low to high, causing havoc on the forecheck, getting pucks back.—
Corey Masisak,
Denver Post,
21 Mar. 2026
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Wild extremes of temperature, a heat dome, a potent bomb cyclone blizzard, epic rainfalls and violent tornadoes have wreaked weather havoc across the nation.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
17 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Desolation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desolation. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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