Desolation

noun

noun ·4 syllables ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The act of desolating or laying waste; destruction of inhabitants; depopulation. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    an event that results in total destruction wordnet
  3. 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. 4
    sadness resulting from being forsaken or abandoned wordnet
  5. 5
    A place or country wasted and forsaken. countable, uncountable
Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    a bleak and desolate atmosphere wordnet
  2. 7
    the state of being decayed or destroyed wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
devastationbarrennessdesolatenessdrearinessforlornnessgloom

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.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.