Definitions for desolate
ˈdɛs ə lɪt; -ˌleɪtdes·o·late

Princeton's WordNet(3.50 / 4 votes)Rate this definition:

1. bare, barren, bleak, desolate, stark(adj)

   providing no shelter or sustenance

   "bare rocky hills"; "barren lands"; "the bleak treeless regions of the high Andes"; "the desolate surface of the moon"; "a stark landscape"

2. desolate(verb)

   crushed by grief

   "depressed and desolate of soul"; "a low desolate wail"

3. abandon, forsake, desolate, desert(verb)

   leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch

   "The mother deserted her children"

4. depopulate, desolate(verb)

   reduce in population

   "The epidemic depopulated the countryside"

5. lay waste to, waste, devastate, desolate, ravage, scourge(verb)

   cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly

   "The enemy lay waste to the countryside after the invasion"

Wiktionary(2.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. desolate(Verb)

   To deprive of inhabitants.

2. desolate(Verb)

   To devastate or lay waste somewhere.

3. desolate(Verb)

   To abandon or forsake something.

4. desolate(Verb)

   To make someone sad, forlorn and hopeless.

5. desolate(Adjective)

   Deserted and devoid of inhabitants.

6. desolate(Adjective)

   Barren and lifeless.

7. desolate(Adjective)

   Made unfit for habitation or use.

8. desolate(Adjective)

   Dismal or dreary.

9. desolate(Adjective)

   Sad, forlorn and hopeless.

Webster Dictionary(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Desolate(adj)

   destitute or deprived of inhabitants; deserted; uninhabited; hence, gloomy; as, a desolate isle; a desolate wilderness; a desolate house

2. Desolate(adj)

   laid waste; in a ruinous condition; neglected; destroyed; as, desolate altars

3. Desolate(adj)

   left alone; forsaken; lonely; comfortless

4. Desolate(adj)

   lost to shame; dissolute

5. Desolate(adj)

   destitute of; lacking in

6. Desolate(verb)

   to make desolate; to leave alone; to deprive of inhabitants; as, the earth was nearly desolated by the flood

7. Desolate(verb)

   to lay waste; to ruin; to ravage; as, a fire desolates a city

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Desolate

   des′o-lāt, v.t. to make solitary: to deprive of inhabitants: to lay waste.—adj. solitary: destitute of inhabitants: laid waste.—adv. Des′olately.—ns. Des′olateness; Desolat′er, -or; Desolā′tion, waste: destruction: a place desolated.—adj. Des′olatory. [L. desolāre, -ātum—de, inten., and solāre, to make alone—solus, alone.]

How to pronounce desolate?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say desolate in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of desolate in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of desolate in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of desolate in a Sentence

1. Arthur O'Shaunessey:

   We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dream. Wandering by lone sea breakers, and sitting by desolate streams. World losers and world forsakers, for whom the pale moon gleams. Yet we are movers and the shakers of the world forever it seems.

2. Chris Cabrera:

   It's very desolate, very remote.

3. Buzz Aldrin:

   I guess I said that because it was magnificent, we had gotten there, and it looked pretty desolate. But it was magnificent desolation. I think Neil remarked the beauty, too.

4. Craig Downs:

   You can have an El Niño climate change impact on a coral reef ; let's say it kills 40 % of the coral, but if you have swimmers there with sunscreen pollution, you're not going to have new generations coming in. So you're going to see the slow decline of the coral reefs in the area. And then you get an undersea, desolate landscape of just muck and mud and sand.

5. Elizabeth Barrett Browning:

   How many desolate creatures on the earth have learnt the simple dues of fellowship and social comfort, in a hospital.

Images & Illustrations of desolate

Popularity rank by frequency of use