Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The act or an instance of desolating.
  • noun The state of being desolate.
  • noun Devastation; ruin.
  • noun The state of being abandoned or forsaken; loneliness.
  • noun Wretchedness; misery.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The act of desolating; destruction or expulsion of inhabitants; devastation; a laying waste.
  • noun A desolate place; a waste, devastated, or lifeless place or region.
  • noun A desolate or desolated condition or state; destruction; ruin.
  • noun Personal affliction; the state of being desolate or forsaken; sadness.
  • noun Synonyms Ravage.
  • noun 3 and Misery, wretchedness, gloom.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The act of desolating or laying waste; destruction of inhabitants; depopulation.
  • noun The state of being desolated or laid waste; ruin; solitariness; destitution; gloominess.
  • noun A place or country wasted and forsaken.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The act of desolating or laying waste; destruction of inhabitants; depopulation.
  • noun The state of being desolated or laid waste; ruin; solitariness; destitution; gloominess.
  • noun A place or country wasted and forsaken.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun sadness resulting from being forsaken or abandoned
  • noun an event that results in total destruction
  • noun a bleak and desolate atmosphere
  • noun the state of being decayed or destroyed

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Ultimately from Latin dēsōlātiō.

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