desolated

verb

past tense of desolate
as in destroyed
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of totally desolated the city with aerial bombs

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for desolated
  1. destroyed
  2. ruined
  3. devastated
  4. demolished
  5. shattered
  6. wrecked
Verb
  • The fire started in the 2300 block of Pickett Road and destroyed five structures, according to Cal Fire.
    — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Almost 50 homes and other structures have been destroyed so far; there have been several injuries, and one of Tibbetts’s neighbors lost 20 German shepherds.
    — Anya Kamenetz, Curbed, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of destroyed
Verb
  • Three winemakers earlier this month filed suit against the owner of Hundred Acre Wines, Jayson Woodbridge, and his company alleging that smoke from the wildfire ruined their harvests, the Press Democrat reported.
    — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Authorities in Napa County have charged a man for allegedly setting the 2025 Pickett Fire near Calistoga, which burned thousands of acres of Wine Country and ruined grape harvests because of the smoke.
    — Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of ruined
Verb
  • The flash flood which has devastated settlements in northern Nepal was caused by an earthquake triggering a large landslide which blocked the Bhote Koshi river, according to Nepal’s foreign minister Shishir Khanal.
    — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026
  • In season one, Alice (Nicola Walker) is devastated when her best friend Steve (Jemaine Clement) starts dating her 26-year-old daughter Izzy.
    — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of devastated
Verb
  • Meanwhile, as cars replaced horses, streets had to be widened, and several of the city’s many inconvenient hills were flattened—some houses were demolished, but plenty were simply rolled out of the way.
    — Nicola Twilley, New Yorker, 27 Aug. 2026
  • His Administration demolished the White House’s East Wing to make way for a ballroom costing hundreds of millions of dollars—a project facing its own legal challenges.
    — Chad de Guzman, Time, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of demolished
Verb
  • Adolf Hitler's army has been shattered, but thousands of Nazi fanatics are prepared to engage in an epic last stand.
    — Danielle Parker, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The case against the Tates That image of impunity shattered on July 18, when US Marshals arrested the brothers outside a bare-knuckle boxing match in Miami on an extradition request from British authorities.
    — Jonny Hallam, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of shattered
Verb
  • As more cars wrecked behind the incident, NASCAR was forced to throw the caution flag — freezing the field with Preece in front.
    — Jeff Gluck, New York Times, 30 Aug. 2026
  • But in a case of life imitating art, the show’s entire publicity strategy was inadvertently wrecked by a real-life aristocrat, after reports leaked that Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, was being eyed for a role in the series.
    — K.J. Yossman, Variety, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of wrecked
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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desolate
desolated
desolateness
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Cite this Entry

“Desolated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desolated. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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