desolate
- 01 C1 Advanced
adj.feeling very sad, lonely, and without hope.
adj.feeling or showing great misery, loneliness, or hopelessness.
Simple“She felt desolate after her best friend moved to another country.”
In context“The news of the factory closure left the entire town feeling desolate and uncertain about the future.”
- 02 C2 Proficiency
v.to destroy a place or make it empty of people.
v.to devastate an area or deprive it of inhabitants, often through war or natural disaster.
Simple“The long war desolated the countryside, leaving many farms empty.”
In context“The flood waters desolated the valley, sweeping away homes and rendering the fertile soil useless for years to come.”
UsageThe verb is transitive and requires a direct object, such as a region or country.
“For gardeners keen to rejuvenate their dreary, desolate brown patches quickly, autumn bedding plants can help provide some late-season cheer.”
“While it might look desolate now, the hope is that some insects and plant species will eventually colonise the ground either sides of the tracks.”
From Middle English desolat(e). See Etymology 2 and -ate (adjective-forming suffix) for more.
From Middle English desolaten (“to desolate”), from desolat(e) (“desolate”), from Latin dēsōlātus, perfect passive participle of dēsōlō (“to leave alone, make lonely, lay waste, desolate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix) for more.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.