desolate
Devoid of life
Desolate describes places that are bleak, empty, and lifeless—a desolate landscape, a desolate stretch of highway.
The word extends to emotional states: someone desolate feels utterly alone and without hope.
As a verb, to desolate is to lay waste or devastate: War desolated the region.
The noun desolation captures both the physical ruin and the feeling of profound loneliness.
Completely abandoned or discarded
- desertedLeft behind, uninhabited
- uninhabitedHaving no occupants
- neglectedNot given proper attention
- derelictAbandoned or neglectful
vacant · forgotten · stranded · marooned · discarded · left · disused · empty
Separated from others
- secludedSet apart, private
- remoteDistant or controller
- friendlessHaving no companions
- aloneWithout others present
companionless · alienated · estranged · cut-off · withdrawn · hermitic · reclusive · outcast
Overwhelmed by profound loss
- heartbrokenOverwhelmed with grief
- despairingCompletely without hope
- anguishedSeverely emotionally distressed
- bereftDeprived through loss
forlorn · hopeless · inconsolable · devastated · wretched · miserable · sorrowful · melancholy
Devoid of water
- infertileUnable to produce offspring
- unproductiveFailing to achieve results
- sterileFree from microorganisms
- parchedExtremely dry or thirsty
lifeless · bleak · stark · bare · inhospitable · wasteland · desert · drought-stricken
Uninhabitable barren region
- tundraFrigid treeless biome
- badlandsArid, heavily eroded terrain
- outbackRemote interior wilderness
- steppeTreeless Eurasian grassland
moorland · heath · scrubland · desert · expanse · frontier · hinterland · void
Breaking down gradually
- decayedBroken down organically
- dilapidatedRuined through neglect
- ravagedSeverely damaged or destroyed
- destroyedMade to cease existing
war-torn · bombed · devastated · gutted · wrecked · collapsed · deteriorated · decrepit
forsaken
Completely abandoned or discarded
- desertedLeft behind, uninhabited
- uninhabitedHaving no occupants
- neglectedNot given proper attention
derelict · vacant · forgotten · stranded · marooned · discarded · left · disused · empty · ghostly
isolated
Separated from others
- secludedSet apart, private
- remoteDistant or controller
- friendlessHaving no companions
alone · companionless · alienated · estranged · cut-off · withdrawn · hermitic · reclusive · outcast · godforsaken
grief-stricken
Overwhelmed by profound loss
- heartbrokenOverwhelmed with grief
- despairingCompletely without hope
- anguishedSeverely emotionally distressed
bereft · forlorn · hopeless · inconsolable · devastated · wretched · miserable · sorrowful · melancholy · dejected
arid
Devoid of water
- infertileUnable to produce offspring
- unproductiveFailing to achieve results
- sterileFree from microorganisms
parched · lifeless · bleak · stark · bare · inhospitable · wasteland · desert · drought-stricken · windswept
wasteland
Uninhabitable barren region
steppe · moorland · heath · scrubland · desert · expanse · frontier · hinterland · void · nowhere
crumbling
Breaking down gradually
- decayedBroken down organically
- dilapidatedRuined through neglect
- ravagedSeverely damaged or destroyed
destroyed · war-torn · bombed · devastated · gutted · wrecked · collapsed · deteriorated · decrepit · ramshackle
- desertsand, sand dunes, sand dune, dune, dunes
- lonelinessalone, loneliness, lonely, isolation, forsaken
- Post-Apocalypsewasteland, fallout, survivors, apocalypse, collapse
- sombergloomy, bleak, dreary, dismal, melancholy
- terrain wordshilly, rocky, muddy, sandy, flat
- atmospheresmisty, hazy, foggy, smoky, humid
desolatefertile
Able to reproduce abundantly
lush · verdant · flourishing · thriving · cultivated
- desolate landscapeUninhabited, barren terrain
desolation, desolated, desolating, desolates, desolately, desolateness, desolations, desolators