Synonyms of desolation

desolation

noun

ˌde-sə-ˈlā-shən 

1

as in sadness

a state or spell of low spirits

his desolation after his twin brother died was incurable

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sadness
• melancholy
• depression
• sorrowfulness
• mournfulness
• sorrow
• anguish
• grief
• gloom
• misery
• oppression
• dejection
• desperation
• despair
• agony
• unhappiness
• dreariness
• gloominess
• joylessness
• heartsickness
• forlornness
• blues
• mourning
• glumness
• pain
• despondency
• despondence
• dumps
• miserableness
• boredom
• distress
• blue devils
• despond
• downheartedness
• doldrums
• mopes
• melancholia
• disconsolateness
• hopelessness
• regret
• wretchedness
• dispiritedness
• self-pity
• somberness
• dolefulness
• discouragement
• woe
• dolor
• ennui
• drear
• disheartenment
• tedium
• moroseness
• moodiness
• morbidness
• woefulness
• self-despair
• dismalness
• rue
• morosity

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• joy
• exultation
• elation
• rapture
• happiness
• ecstasy
• jubilation
• intoxication
• heaven
• exhilaration
• euphoria
• bliss
• exuberance
• joyousness
• gladness
• joyfulness
• felicity
• mirth
• glee
• gaiety
• merriment
• jollity
• humor
• optimism
• joviality
• blissfulness
• cheerfulness
• hopefulness
• lightheartedness
• gayness
• contentment
• satisfaction
• cheeriness
• elatedness
• content
• cheer
• mirthfulness
• rapturousness
• gleefulness
• gladsomeness
• contentedness
• delight
• gratification
• sunniness

2

as in desert

land that is uninhabited or not fit for crops

looked out over the vast untamed desolation to the north

Synonyms & Similar Words

• desert
• barren
• wasteland
• wilderness
• heath
• waste
• no-man's-land
• bush
• badland
• wild
• brush
• out-of-doors
• dust bowl
• outdoors
• open air
• open
• nature

3

as in disrepair

the state of being unattended to or not cared for

the desolation of the abandoned garden

Synonyms & Similar Words

• disrepair
• dilapidation
• neglect
• seediness
• abandonment
• desertion
• negligence
• inattention
• deterioration
• disintegration
• decay
• decrepitude
• ruination
• ruin
• dereliction
• dumpiness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• repair
• conservation
• preservation
• keeping
• upkeep

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• devastation
• destruction
• havoc
• loss
• extinction
• demolition
• extermination
• annihilation
• obliteration
• decimation
• ruin
• wreckage
• wastage
• ruination
• demolishment
• collapse
• mincemeat
• disintegration
• depredation
• despoliation
• slaughter
• massacre
• breakup
• dissolution
• despoilment
• execution
• assassination
• killing
• eradication
• effacement
• dismantlement

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• construction
• building
• erection
• salvation
• rescue
• saving
• raising
• protection
• preservation
• salvage
• conservation
• restoration
• reclamation
• reconstruction
• renovation
• remodeling
• re-creation
• refurbishment
• regeneracy

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of desolation

Mad Max desolation and Hollywood glam meet in the Nevada desert every September during Burning Man — and even the industry’s most famous don’t pass up the annual opportunity to torch the giant wicker man. — Alyssa Modos, PEOPLE, 9 July 2026

Some had waited for decades, but the priest learned, more or less, how to accompany people through years of confinement and isolation without losing himself in their desolation. — Pamela Colloff, ProPublica, 30 June 2026

There’s only desolation and nothingness. — Literary Hub, 26 June 2026

Every street presents a tableaux of desolation. — Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 22 June 2026