desolate
Empty, lonely and sad, with nothing and nobody in it.
desolate in a sentence
- The desolate planet had no trees, no water and no sound at all.
- In midwinter the seaside funfair stood desolate, its rides empty and its stalls boarded up.
Try an 11+ style question
Verbal reasoning papers often ask about a word like this.
Which word is closest in meaning to desolate?
- Abustling
- Bcrowded
- Cdeserted
- Dlively
Show the answer
C: deserted. The other three mean the opposite of desolate.
Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to desolate?
- Ableak
- Bdeserted
- Ccrowded
- Dbarren
Show the answer
C: crowded. The other three mean nearly the same as desolate.
Words that mean something similar
deserted, barren, bleak
Words that mean the opposite
crowded, lively, bustling
Careful: desolate is not barren
Barren is about nothing growing. Desolate is about loneliness and emptiness. Read why children mix them up.
More words about places & settings
- dilapidated: Falling to pieces because it has not been looked after.
- domestic: Belonging to the home and family, or tame and kept by people.
- eerie: Strange in a way that makes you feel nervous or scared.
- exotic: Unusual and exciting because it comes from a faraway place.
- expanse: A wide, open stretch of land, sea or sky.
- exterior: The outside part of something.
- grim: Gloomy, harsh and without cheer.
- habitable: Good enough for people or animals to live in.
More words to explore
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test