desolated

Desolated is an adjective describing a place or condition marked by abandonment, ruin, or bleak emptiness. It can refer to a landscape that has been stripped of life and human activity or to an emotional state of loneliness and distress following a loss or catastrophe. The term can describe both physical environments and mental experiences, and it is commonly used in descriptive writing.

Origin and usage notes: Desolated derives from desolate, from Latin desolatus (to abandon, lay waste), via Old French desoler. The form desolated emphasizes the result of ruin and abandonment, whereas desolate as an adjective can be more general, and to desolate as a verb means to devastate.

In practice: A desolated town after a war is marked by collapsed buildings and silence, while a desolated coastline may show erosion and wreckage. Desolated feelings may be described as profound emptiness or despair. Common related terms include deserted, barren, ruined, forlorn, and devastated, with subtle differences in nuance.

See also: Related terms include deserted, barren, ruined, forlorn, and devastated.