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Webster's Dictionary (1865)

2 entries under this word

Desolate

Dēs'o-lāte, v. t.

verbtransitive

v. t. [imp. & p. p. DESOLATED; p. pr. & vb. n. DESOLATING.] [Lat. desolare, desolatum, from de and solare, to make lonely, to lay waste, from solus, alone, lonely; It. desolare, disolare, Pr., Sp., & Pg. desolar, Fr. désoler.]

  1. To leave alone; to deprive of inhabitants; to make desert; as, the earth was nearly desolated by the flood.
  2. To lay waste; to ruin; to ravage; as, an inundation desolates fields.

Constructed in the very heart of a desolating war. Sparks.

Dēs′o-late, a.

adjective

(45), a. [Lat. desolatus, p. p. of desolare. See supra.] 1. Destitute or deprived of inhabitants; deserted; uninhabited; as, a desolate isle; a desolate wilderness. I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant. Jer. ix. 11. And the silvery marsh flowers that throng The desolate creeks and pools among. Tennyson.

  1. Laid waste; in a ruinous condition; neglected; destroyed; as, desolate altars; desolate towers.
  2. Left alone; solitary; without a companion; lonely; afflicted.

Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom's house. 2 Sam. xiii. 20. Have mercy upon me, for I am desolate. Ps. xxv. 16. Syn.—Desert; uninhabited; lonely; waste.