1
as in sadness
a state or spell of low spirits
his desolation after his twin brother died was incurable
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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 landscapes of southernmost Louisiana pair opulent biodiversity with postapocalyptic desolation.
—
Nathaniel Rich, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
Even beyond the pulsing techno soundtrack and the majestic desolation of the landscape, Sirât (the title referring to the Islamic term for the razor-thin bridge between heaven and hell) creates a sensory experience of audacity and shock that touches the sublime.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 5 Aug. 2025
Netanyahu reset the war clock, and erased the calendar of desolation.
—Orly Halpern, Time, 18 June 2025
Decades later, amid this desolation, scientists made an astonishing discovery: fungi thriving by literally feeding off the radioactive decay.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for desolation
Nathaniel Rich, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
Even beyond the pulsing techno soundtrack and the majestic desolation of the landscape, Sirât (the title referring to the Islamic term for the razor-thin bridge between heaven and hell) creates a sensory experience of audacity and shock that touches the sublime.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 5 Aug. 2025
Netanyahu reset the war clock, and erased the calendar of desolation.
—Orly Halpern, Time, 18 June 2025
Decades later, amid this desolation, scientists made an astonishing discovery: fungi thriving by literally feeding off the radioactive decay.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for desolation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for desolation
Noun
-
Followers and fans of Tika online expressed their sadness in the comment section.—
Tabitha Parent,
PEOPLE,
5 Nov. 2025
-
And in the last days of August, laughter and pot would waft over the scene, happiness laced with sadness.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Crossing into New Mexico, the road rises into a ghost town dotted high desert.—
Kit Bernardi,
USA Today,
31 Oct. 2025
-
During the era of the late Cretaceous, the land that now sits in modern-day Egypt was far from an arid desert.—
Irene Wright,
Miami Herald,
31 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Besides government offices, many areas had been severely damaged by disrepair, and fires – easy to occur since most buildings were wooden structures.—
Fred He,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Lockhart had previously told Deadline about visiting the property on Martha’s Vineyard — the unfinished summer retreat of a brutalist architect that had fallen into disrepair after his death — that would serve as inspiration for the setting of her new novel.—
Dessi Gomez,
Deadline,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
After constant requests during two years of war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the Israeli military finally brings our correspondent into the territory to see the devastation in post-war northern Gaza firsthand.—
Greg Dixon,
NPR,
5 Nov. 2025
-
In 2005, following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, park officials made the decision to close Six Flags New Orleans permanently.—
Colson Thayer,
PEOPLE,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Coppola and production designer Ziering will explore their creative partnership, the aesthetic and emotional storytelling that defines Coppola’s visual universe — from the suburban melancholy of Palo Alto to the luminous complexity of The Last Showgirl.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
29 Oct. 2025
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Full of dread and melancholy, the Austrian import flips the creepy-kid script a bit by centering on two boys (Elias and Lukas Schwarz) who wonder whether their mom (Susanne Wuest), whose head is wrapped in bandages after facial surgery, is actually their mom. 38.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Perhaps, curled inside the turbulent virginal atmosphere, Helm dreams of being a storm, has a prophetic vision of destruction, feels a natural calling.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
-
What divides him from Burton is that Hopkins, by a miracle, summoned the clarity to renounce his own destruction.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
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In adults, physical activity helps to prevent and manage health problems like cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes and reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety—while also enhancing brain health and overall wellbeing—according to the World Health Organization.—
Hannah Millington,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
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Specifically, the study found that the teens and young adults required medical care for common mental disorders like anxiety and depression, a physical health condition, injuries and poisoning, and other physical diseases.—
Greta Cross,
USA Today,
31 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Texas Tech started slow in Manhattan, but the dam eventually broke due to Tech’s havoc-wreaking defense.—
Stewart Mandel,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
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The real reason is to wreak as much havoc as humanly possible, or at least that’s what we’re given to believe from the way the hostess swans about while deftly manipulating dozens of puppet strings simultaneously.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Desolation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desolation. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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