Destitute or deprived of inhabitants; deserted; uninhabited; hence, gloomy; as, a desolate isle; a desolate wilderness; a desolate house. I will make Jerusalem . . . a den of dragons, and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant. Jer. ix. 11. And the silvery marish flowers that throng The desolate creeks and pools among. Tennyson.
Laid waste; in a ruinous condition; neglected; destroyed; as, desolate altars.
Left alone; forsaken; lonely; comfortless. Have mercy upon, for I am desolate. Ps. xxv. 16. Voice of the poor and desolate. Keble.
Lost to shame; dissolute. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Destitute of; lacking in. [Obs.] I were right now of tales desolate. Chaucer.
To make desolate; to leave alone; to deprive of inhabitants; as, the earth was nearly desolated by the flood.
To lay waste; to ruin; to ravage; as, a fire desolates a city. Constructed in the very heart of a desolating war. Sparks.
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