desolate

1.

/ˈdɛsələt/

providing no shelter or sustenance

2.

/ˈdɛsəˌleɪt/

cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly

Other forms: desolated; desolating; desolates; desolatingly

If you feel alone, left out, and devastated, you feel desolate. A deserted, empty, depressing place can be desolate too.

If you know the word deserted, you have a clue to the meaning of desolate, a grim word that can describe feelings and places. When a person feels desolate, he feels deserted, lonely, hopeless, and sad. When a location is desolate, there's almost nothing there. Think of a rundown cabin in the middle of nowhere, with no running water and no stores or other people anywhere. That's a desolate setting. Being in a desolate place usually makes people feel desolate.

Definitions of desolate (/ˈdɛsələt/)

1. adjective

   providing no shelter or sustenance
   “the desolate surface of the moon”

   synonyms: bare, barren, bleak, stark

   inhospitable

   unfavorable to life or growth
2. adjective

   forsaken by owner or inhabitants
   synonyms: abandoned, derelict, deserted

   uninhabited

   not having inhabitants; not lived in
3. adjective

   crushed by grief
   “depressed and desolate of soul”

   “a low desolate wail”

   synonyms:

   disconsolate, inconsolable, unconsolable

   sad beyond comforting; incapable of being consoled