How to Use desolate in a Sentence

desolate

adjective
Definition of desolatenext
Synonyms for desolatenext
  • The board noted that the mall is dark and desolate at night.
    — Stu Bykofsky, Philly.com, 4 Oct. 2017
  • The worker said the pilot swerved the plane to its crash site which is in a desolate area.
    — Nimi Princewill and Stephanie Busari, CNN, 21 Feb. 2021
  • The finished song is desolate but resilient, a hell of a plaint.
    — Lindsay Zoladz, New York Times, 7 Dec. 2022
  • But as the flight continued, the fall colors gave way to a desolate sea of gray and black.
    — Joseph Serna, Los Angeles Times, 21 Dec. 2020
  • At first glance, the area looks desolate, hardly a place for a wildlife refuge.
    — Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2022
  • The trips on desolate, dusty roads could sometimes take hours.
    — Tod Leonard, sandiegouniontribune.com, 8 Mar. 2018
  • Between each hole, the drive is stunning and desolate and serene.
    — Oliver Horovitz, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 May 2017
  • The scene is dark and desolate and suffused with an overwhelming sense of dread.
    — Jiji Lee, The New Yorker, 10 Dec. 2020
  • Reid was born in the desolate mining town of Searchlight.
    — Lisa Mascaro, ajc, 12 Jan. 2022
  • The vast parking lot was desolate except for a small patch of cars, some with no air in their tires.
    — Rick Rojas, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2018
  • The region is so flat and so desolate that the conveyor stands out, even from space.
    — Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 27 Feb. 2023
  • The whole world looks busy yet desolate: the precise mood of a lonely subway ride.
    — Darren Franich, EW.com, 11 Aug. 2021
  • But today the lands the Amur cuts through are desolate, endless and poor.
    — Washington Post, 17 Sep. 2021
  • Abby has not been found to this day -- not in the landfill, nor in the desolate mesas nearby.
    — Susan Mallie, CBS News, 12 May 2018
  • The roof is missing and the whole island appeared forlorn and desolate.
    — Washington Post, 25 June 2021
  • The Chevrolet gasser blasted through salt air across a desolate stretch of land.
    — Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2019
  • Debris is scattered across the roads and a now-desolate parking lot.
    — Jonathan Vanian, Fortune, 7 Sep. 2017
  • Antarctica has not always been a desolate land of ice and snow.
    — Reuters, NBC News, 24 Oct. 2023
  • Spacious, yes, but the old one felt more desolate as a result.
    — Lydia Wilson, The New York Review of Books, 8 Jan. 2020
  • Both the setting and the winter season lend the film a cool, almost desolate, mood.
    — Amar Chebib, The New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2022
  • Those few who dared venture out from their homes found the streets dangerous and desolate.
    — Declan Walsh, New York Times, 17 Apr. 2023
  • Buildings and homes were boarded up across the region, and the streets of the city’s small downtown were desolate.
    — Washington Post, 27 Aug. 2020
  • An hour or so into the drive, the forests vanish and are replaced by desolate scrubland.
    — Michael Lewis, The Hive, 2 Aug. 2017
  • Her van was abandoned on a desolate road the teens used to walk back to town, authorities said.
    — Kc Baker, Peoplemag, 19 Apr. 2023
  • Most dealers moved to desolate Chelsea, where rents were low.
    — Town & Country, 18 Apr. 2019
  • The case turned when police found Woodworth's body on a desolate dirt road near the farmhouse.
    — Jamie Yuccas, CBS News, 29 Jan. 2022
  • Boys filing along white tents against a desolate desert backdrop.
    — Jazmine Ulloa, latimes.com, 20 June 2018
  • This allows fig trees to thrive in desolate places instead of clustering in forests.
    — Chiara Goia, Smithsonian, 29 Apr. 2017
  • She was taken to a desolate area, raped and fatally shot.
    — Michael Graczyk, The Seattle Times, 27 June 2017
  • The search begins at sunrise, with eight-and-a-half miles of desolate beach to cover.
    — Lawrence Specker | Lspecker@al.com, al, 29 June 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'desolate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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