DESOLATING

Verb

desolating

present participle of desolate

Source: Wiktionary


DESOLATE

Des"o*late, a. Etym: [L. desolatus, p. p. of desolare to leave alone, forsake; de- + solare to make lonely, solus alone. See Sole, a.]

1. Destitute or deprived of inhabitants; deserted; uninhabited; hence, gloomy; as, a desolate isle; a desolate wilderness; a desolate house. I will make Jerusalem . . . a den of dragons, and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant. Jer. ix. 11. And the silvery marish flowers that throng The desolate creeks and pools among. Tennyson.

2. Laid waste; in a ruinous condition; neglected; destroyed; as, desolate altars.

3. Left alone; forsaken; lonely; comfortless. Have mercy upon, for I am desolate. Ps. xxv. 16. Voice of the poor and desolate. Keble.

4. Lost to shame; dissolute. [Obs.] Chaucer.

5. Destitute of; lacking in. [Obs.] I were right now of tales desolate. Chaucer.

Syn.

– Desert; uninhabited; lonely; waste.

Des"o*late, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Desolated; p. pr. & vb. n. Desolating.]

1. To make desolate; to leave alone; to deprive of inhabitants; as, the earth was nearly desolated by the flood.

2. To lay waste; to ruin; to ravage; as, a fire desolates a city. Constructed in the very heart of a desolating war. Sparks.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

12 March 2025

BUDGERIGAR

(noun) small Australian parakeet usually light green with black and yellow markings in the wild but bred in many colors


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Coffee Trivia

The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.

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