Definition of desolate

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des·o·late    (ds-lt, dz-) KEY 

ADJECTIVE:

1. 1. Devoid of inhabitants; deserted: "streets which were usually so thronged now grown desolate" (Daniel Defoe).
   2. Barren; lifeless: the rocky, desolate surface of the moon.
2. Rendered unfit for habitation or use: the desolate cities of war-torn Europe.
3. Dreary; dismal.
4. Bereft of friends or hope; sad and forlorn. See Synonyms at sad.

TRANSITIVE VERB:
des·o·lat·ed, des·o·lat·ing, des·o·lates (-lt)

1. To rid or deprive of inhabitants.
2. To lay waste; devastate: "Here we have no wars to desolate our fields" (Michel Guillaume Jean de Crèvecoeur).
3. To forsake; abandon.
4. To make lonely, forlorn, or wretched.

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ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English desolat, from Latin dsltus, past participle of dslre, to abandon : d-, de- + slus, alone; see s(w)e- in Indo-European roots

OTHER FORMS:
deso·late·ly(Adverb), deso·late·ness(Noun), deso·later or deso·lator(Noun)