GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English

last match results

Found 2 definitions

1.       
   ‖Desolate , a. [L. desolatus, p. p. of desolare to leave alone, forsake; de- + solare to make lonely, solus alone. See Sole, a.]
   Destitute or deprived of inhabitants; deserted; uninhabited; hence, gloomy; as, a desolate isle; a desolate wilderness; a desolate house.
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   I will make Jerusalem . . . a den of dragons, and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.
   Jer. ix. 11.
   
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   And the silvery marish flowers that throng
   The desolate creeks and pools among.
   Tennyson.
   
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   Laid waste; in a ruinous condition; neglected; destroyed; as, desolate altars.
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   Left alone; forsaken; lonely; comfortless.
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   Have mercy upon, for I am desolate.
   Ps. xxv. 16.
   
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   Voice of the poor and desolate.
   Keble.
   
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   Lost to shame; dissolute. [Obs.]
   Chaucer.
   
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   Destitute of; lacking in. [Obs.]
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   I were right now of tales desolate.
   Chaucer.
   Syn. -- Desert; uninhabited; lonely; waste.
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2.       
   Desolate , v. t. [imp. & p. p. Desolated; p. pr. & vb. n. Desolating.]
   To make desolate; to leave alone; to deprive of inhabitants; as, the earth was nearly desolated by the flood.
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   To lay waste; to ruin; to ravage; as, a fire desolates a city.
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   Constructed in the very heart of a desolating war.
   Sparks.
   
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