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
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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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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
-
There’s not even a sadness or an anger.—
Katie Campione,
Deadline,
1 Oct. 2025
-
When his dog, Grace, died the year before, at the age of sixteen and a half, the sadness was overwhelming.—
Ann Patchett,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
In addition, strong winds over desert areas could result in briefly lowered visibilities to well under a mile at times in blowing dust or blowing sand.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
3 Oct. 2025
-
His father performed cowboy songs in both English and Spanish to guests enjoying a hayride or picnic in the desert.—
Douglas C. Towne,
AZCentral.com,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The company in February 2016 had torn down the three historic Green Gables apartments, built in 1927 by architect Nelle Peters, after the buildings, west of the Country Club Plaza, had fallen into disrepair.—
Chris Higgins,
Kansas City Star,
30 Sep. 2025
-
In this week’s issue, Jon Lee Anderson, a New Yorker staff writer who lived in Havana thirty years ago and wrote a biography of Che Guevara, reports that the island has fallen into disrepair in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic.—
Caroline Mimbs Nyce,
New Yorker,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Murderers Bar shows us the sum of industrial achievement and the stakes of its devastation, human-made but altogether more than human.—
Anne Reeve,
Artforum,
1 Oct. 2025
-
The new season will not lack for Academy Award hopefuls – among them, All the Walls Came Down, Ondi Timoner’s documentary about the devastation of the Eaton Fire in the Altadena neighborhood of Los Angeles and efforts to rebuild.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
But even here, the ache of the lovers’ separation registers with only a muffled sense of melancholy.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Some gags land, others don’t, and the script’s sudden bursts of melancholy dependably catch you in the gut.—
Nicholas Quah,
Vulture,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The Wildcats hold a 10-8 edge over the Horned Frogs in their all-time series, including a 41-3 destruction of TCU in 2023 at Manhattan in the teams’ last meeting.—
Jim Barnes,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
29 Sep. 2025
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Cyrus — who married Hemsworth, 35, the following month after the destruction, before later separating in August 2019 — was left to grieve the many memories that were lost.—
Desiree Anello,
PEOPLE,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
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If conditions are right, the clusters swirl into a storm known as a tropical wave or tropical depression.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
28 Sep. 2025
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The depression trudged along at 2 mph with 35-mph winds, center officials said.—
Joe Marusak,
Charlotte Observer,
28 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
And although police have uncovered networks seeking to cause havoc after the election, the fear is that authorities will not be able to expose them all.—
Christian Edwards,
CNN Money,
26 Sep. 2025
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Officials also warned of the havoc the network could have caused if left intact.—
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Desolation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desolation. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
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