Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- an act or instance of desolating.
- the state of being desolated.
- devastation; ruin.
- depopulation.
- dreariness; barrenness.
- deprivation of companionship; loneliness.
- sorrow; grief; woe.
- a desolate place.
noun
- the act of desolating or the state of being desolated; ruin or devastation
- solitary misery; wretchedness
- a desolate region; barren waste
late 14c., “action of laying waste,” also “sorrow, grief,” from Old French desolacion (12c.) “desolation, devastation, hopelessness, despair,” from Church Latin desolationem (nominative desolatio), noun of action from past participle stem of desolare (see desolate (adj.)). Meaning “condition of being ruined or wasted” is from early 15c.