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Definition of "desolation" []

  • The act or an instance of desolating. (noun)
  • The state of being desolate. (noun)
  • Devastation; ruin: a drought that brought desolation to the region. (noun)
  • The state of being abandoned or forsaken; loneliness: a sense of utter desolation following the death of his parents. (noun)
  • Wretchedness; misery. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "desolation" in a sentence
  • "And now we see for what the land perishes; all this desolation is the desert of their deeds and the performance of"
  • "His faithful, His costly garments, His disciples, are all stripped from Him; and His desolation is made the more evident by this complete annihilation of colour."
  • "The desolation is as Romantic as that of Freidrich's "The Wanderer", where a lone figure looks out over the sublime Alpine wilds."