Desolation
noun
noun ·4 syllables ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The act of desolating or laying waste; destruction of inhabitants; depopulation. countable, uncountable
- 2 an event that results in total destruction wordnet
- 3 The state of being desolated or laid waste countable, uncountable
"I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you."
- 4 sadness resulting from being forsaken or abandoned wordnet
- 5 A place or country wasted and forsaken. countable, uncountable
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 a bleak and desolate atmosphere wordnet
- 7 the state of being decayed or destroyed wordnet
Example
More examples"In the central portion of the great North American Continent there lies an arid and repulsive desert, which for many a long year served as a barrier against the advance of civilization. From the Sierra Nevada to Nebraska, and from the Yellowstone River in the north to the Colorado upon the south, is a region of desolation and silence."
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English desolacioun, from Middle French, Old French desolacion f, from Latin dēsōlātiō f.