Desolate

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈdÉ›sÉ™lÉ™t/

Origin

From Middle English, from Latin desolatus, past participle of desolare ("to leave alone, make lonely, lay waste, desolate"), from solus ("alone").

Full definition of desolate

Adjective

1. Deserted and devoid of inhabitants.a desolate isle; a desolate wilderness; a desolate house
• Bible, Jer. ix. 11I will make Jerusalem ... a den of dragons, and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.
• TennysonAnd the silvery marish flowers that throng
  The desolate creeks and pools among.
2. Barren and lifeless.
3. Made unfit for habitation or use; laid waste; neglected; destroyed.desolate altars
4. Dismal or dreary.
5. Sad, forlorn and hopeless.He was left desolate by the early death of his wife.
• Keblevoice of the poor and desolate

Verb

1. To deprive of inhabitants.
2. To devastate or lay waste somewhere.
3. To abandon or forsake something.
4. To make someone sad, forlorn and hopeless.

Related terms

• desolation