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Desolate: meaning, example and synonyms

Desolateadj. Empty, bleak, and devoid of life or comfort.

Flashcard for Desolate (adjective): empty, bleak, and devoid of life or comfort. Example: After the mine closed, the once-busy town became desolate, its boarded windows and silent streets visited only by the wind. Synonyms: barren, bleak, deserted, forlorn. Antonyms: bustling, lively, populated, flourishing. Memory tip: De + solus (alone): left utterly alone. Illustration: an empty dusty main street of an abandoned mining town with boarded-up wooden buildings and tumbleweeds under a grey sky.

Example

After the mine closed, the once-busy town became desolate, its boarded windows and silent streets visited only by the wind.

Part of speech
adjective
Synonyms
barren, bleak, deserted, forlorn
Antonyms
bustling, lively, populated, flourishing
Memory tip
De + solus (alone): left utterly alone.

Desolate is in batch 9. Study it with the rest of the batch, then pass the batch quiz to learn it. No account needed; progress is saved on this device.

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Check yourself: Desolate in context

Pick the word that best completes each text.

Question 1

The plateau around the research station was ______: no trees grew, no animals were seen for weeks, and the only sound was the wind scouring bare rock.

Question 2

After the war emptied its villages, the valley lay ______ for decades, its orchards gone wild and its roads overgrown with thorn.

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