Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb desolate

3 senses of desolate

Sense 1
abandon, forsake, desolate, desert -- (leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch; "The mother deserted her children")
       => leave -- (go and leave behind, either intentionally or by neglect or forgetfulness; "She left a mess when she moved out"; "His good luck finally left him"; "her husband left her after 20 years of marriage"; "she wept thinking she had been left behind")

Sense 2
depopulate, desolate -- (reduce in population; "The epidemic depopulated the countryside")
       => shrink, reduce -- (reduce in size; reduce physically; "Hot water will shrink the sweater"; "Can you shrink this image?")

Sense 3
lay waste to, waste, devastate, desolate, ravage, scourge -- (cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly; "The enemy lay waste to the countryside after the invasion")
       => destroy, ruin -- (destroy completely; damage irreparably; "You have ruined my car by pouring sugar in the tank!"; "The tears ruined her make-up")

Antonyms of adj desolate

2 senses of desolate

Sense 1
bare, barren, bleak, desolate, stark -- (providing no shelter or sustenance; "bare rocky hills"; "barren lands"; "the bleak treeless regions of the high Andes"; "the desolate surface of the moon"; "a stark landscape")

INDIRECT (VIA inhospitable) -> hospitable -- (favorable to life and growth; "soil sufficiently hospitable for forest growth"; "a hospitable environment")

Sense 2
desolate -- (crushed by grief; "depressed and desolate of soul"; "a low desolate wail")

INDIRECT (VIA inconsolable) -> consolable -- (able to be consoled)

Similarity of adj desolate

2 senses of desolate

Sense 1
bare, barren, bleak, desolate, stark -- (providing no shelter or sustenance; "bare rocky hills"; "barren lands"; "the bleak treeless regions of the high Andes"; "the desolate surface of the moon"; "a stark landscape")
       => inhospitable (vs. hospitable) -- (unfavorable to life or growth; "the barren inhospitable desert"; "inhospitable mountain areas")

Sense 2
desolate -- (crushed by grief; "depressed and desolate of soul"; "a low desolate wail")
       => inconsolable (vs. consolable), disconsolate, unconsolable -- (sad beyond comforting; incapable of being consoled; "inconsolable when her son died")