Synonyms for desolate
- adjective
- verb
Most common
lonely lonesome inconsolable disconsolate desert uninhabited bleak barren
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Lonely — sad, forlorn and hopeless
lonely, forlorn, cheerless, wretched, miserable, disconsolate, inconsolable, lonesome, sorrowful, mournful, melancholy, sad, dejected, moody, despondent, joyless, dismal, dispirited, somber US, sombre UK, depressed, downcast, heartsick
2. Desert — deserted and devoid of inhabitants
desert, uninhabited, deserted, forsaken, solitary, derelict, destroyed, abandoned, lifeless, unoccupied, vacant, unfrequented
4. Empty — made unfit for habitation or use because of neglect, destruction etc
Verb
1. Ravage — to devastate or lay waste somewhere
ravage, waste, devastate, destroy, ruin, lay waste, despoil, raze, wreck, strip, obliterate, scourge, annihilate, demolish, sack, dissolve
2. Grieve — to make someone sad, forlorn and hopeless
get down, grieve, oppress, sadden, depress, dispirit, deject, aggrieve
3. Vacate — to abandon or forsake something
4. Depopulate — to deprive of inhabitants
Definitions
- adj. 1
Deserted and devoid of inhabitants.
a desolate isle; a desolate wilderness; a desolate house
- adj. 2
Made unfit for habitation or use because of neglect, destruction etc.
- v. 1
To deprive of inhabitants.
- v. 2
To devastate or lay waste somewhere.
Related words
- Word family
- desolately desolateness desolation
Forms
- Past participle
- desolated
e.g. desolated → ravaged, wasted, devastated, destroyed…
Example sentences
- lonely Left to himself, the child would feel very lonely.
- lonesome She has been very lonesome since her husband died.
- inconsolable Since he died, she is inconsolable.
- disconsolate A wilder or more disconsolate dwelling it was perhaps difficult to conceive.
- desert The wreckage of the plane was found in the desert.
- uninhabited Algeria's islands are very small and uninhabited.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| desolate | rising | |
| lonely | rising | |
| lonesome | rising | |
| inconsolable | rising | |
| disconsolate | rising | |
| desert | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 3 letters
- sad1
- 4 letters
- dark1, ruin2, bare1, sack1, raze1, sere1
- 5 letters
- waste1, empty2, strip1, stark1, wreck1, moody2, bleak1, drear
- 6 letters
- desert2, ruined2, lonely2, wasted2, vacant2, gloomy2, barren2, dismal2, grieve1, dreary2, vacate2, somber2, sombre, ravage2
- 7 letters
- destroy2, abandon3, sterile2, scourge1, oppress2, depress2, forsake2, forlorn2, joyless, despoil
- 8 letters
- solitary4, deserted3, dissolve2, wretched2, forsaken3, lifeless2, demolish3, lonesome2, derelict3, dejected3, mournful2, downcast2, dispirit, aggrieve2
- 9 letters
- destroyed2, abandoned3, miserable4, depressed2, sorrowful3, devastate3, heartsick, cheerless, dispeople
- 10 letters
- devastated4, melancholy4, relinquish3, unoccupied4, annihilate4, obliterate4, despondent3, dispirited4, depopulate4
- 11 letters
- uninhabited5, comfortless
- 12 letters
- inconsolable, disconsolate, unfrequented
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (ruin2 = 2 syllables).