desolate

UK: /ˈdɛsələt/

US: /adj. ˈdɛsəlɪt; v. -ˌleɪt/

US: (adj. des′ə lit; v. des′ə lāt′)

Inflections of 'desolate' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

desolates

v 3rd person singular

desolating

v pres p

desolated

v past

desolated

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

des•o•late /adj. ˈdɛsəlɪt; v. -ˌleɪt/   adj., v., -lat•ed, -lat•ing. 
adj. 

1. barren;
   empty of people;
   deserted:
   a treeless, desolate landscape.
2. feeling lonely or hopeless;
   forlorn:
   desolate over the loss of her job.

v. [ ~ + obj]

3. to destroy, demolish, or devastate:
   coastal towns desolated by the storm.
4. to make sad or distressed:
   desolated by the death of their good friend.

des•o•late•ly, adv. 
des•o•late•ness, n. [uncountable] See -sole-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

des•o•late  (adj. des′ə lit;v. des′ə lāt′), adj., v., -lat•ed, -lat•ing. 
adj. 

1. barren or laid waste;
   devastated:
   a treeless, desolate landscape.
2. deprived or destitute of inhabitants;
   deserted;
   uninhabited.
3. solitary;
   lonely:
   a desolate place.
4. having the feeling of being abandoned by friends or by hope;
   forlorn.
5. dreary;
   dismal;
   gloomy:
   desolate prospects.

v.t. 

6. to lay waste;
   devastate.
7. to deprive of inhabitants;
   depopulate.
8. to make disconsolate.
9. to forsake or abandon.

• Latin dēsōlātus forsaken, past participle of dēsōlāre, equivalent. to dē- de- + sōlāre to make lonely, derivative of sōlus sole¹; see -ate¹
• Middle English 1325–75

des′o•late•ly, adv. 
des′o•late•ness, n. 
des′o•lat′er, des′o•la′tor, n. 
Synonyms

• 1. ravaged.
• 2. desert.
• 4. lonesome, lost; miserable, wretched, woebegone, woeful, inconsolable, cheerless, hopeless.
  Desolate, disconsolate, forlorn suggest one who is in a sad and wretched condition. The desolate person is deprived of human consolation, relationships, or presence:
  desolate and despairing.
  The disconsolate person is aware of the efforts of others to console and comfort, but is unable to be relieved or cheered by them:
  She remained disconsolate even in the midst of friends.
  The forlorn person is lost, deserted, or forsaken by friends:
  wretched and forlorn in a strange city.
• 6. ravage, ruin.
• 8. sadden, depress.
• 9. desert.

Antonyms

• 4. delighted, happy.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

desolate adjective / ˈdɛsəlɪt/

1. uninhabited; deserted
2. made uninhabitable; laid waste; devastated
3. without friends, hope, or encouragement; forlorn, wretched, or abandoned
4. gloomy or dismal; depressing

verb / ˈdɛsəˌleɪt/(transitive)

1. to deprive of inhabitants; depopulate
2. to make barren or lay waste; devastate
3. to make wretched or forlorn
4. to forsake or abandon

Etymology: 14th Century: from Latin dēsōlāre to leave alone, from de- + sōlāre to make lonely, lay waste, from sōlus alone

ˈdesolately adverb

ˈdesolateness noun

ˈdesoˌlater, ˈdesoˌlator noun