All words

desolate

Meaning

Lacking inhabitants or occupants; empty and barren.

Examples by difficulty

Basic: Simple, everyday vocabulary — the easiest to read.

After the factory closed, the whole neighborhood started to feel desolate. The playground was empty and no lights shone in the windows at night. Even during the day, you could walk down the street and see no one for hours. It felt like everyone had left.

The old lighthouse stood on the cliff, its windows dark. No boats came to this shore anymore. The keeper had left long ago, and now the place felt completely desolate, empty and forgotten by everyone.

The highway stretched endlessly through a desolate landscape, with nothing but flat brown earth and scattered rocks for miles. Jake gripped the steering wheel, scanning the horizon for any sign of life, but found only emptiness and silence surrounding his car.

Yesterday, I tried to visit the new pizza place, but when I walked in, it was completely desolate—no people, no workers, just an echo and a single, lonely slice of pineapple pizza spinning on the counter like it had lost a bet.

The old haunted house was totally desolate. No one dared go near it, not even brave Sir Reginald, who once fought a badger for a cookie. Spooky ghosts and cobwebs were its only, very unwelcome, guests.

Normal: Standard, everyday language.

As she wandered through the abandoned streets, the desolate buildings loomed overhead like silent sentinels. The once bustling town was now empty and lifeless, the only sound being the haunting echo of her footsteps on the cracked pavement. The desolation of the place was overwhelming, a stark reminder of the passage of time and the transience of human existence.

In the desolate wasteland, the abandoned buildings stood as silent sentinels, their windows boarded up and their walls crumbling. The once-bustling streets were now empty, overgrown with weeds and fallen leaves. A sense of loneliness permeated the air, as if the entire place had been forsaken.

The desolate town lay still under the moonlit sky, a ghostly silence gripping the abandoned buildings. Shadows danced along the empty streets, casting eerie shapes on the crumbling facades. The wind whispered through the broken windows, a mournful lament for the lost souls who once called this place home. The only sound was the distant howl of a lone wolf, echoing through the desolate landscape. It was a chilling reminder of the emptiness that now consumed this once-thriving community, leaving nothing but a haunting emptiness in its wake.

In the wake of the apocalypse, the city lay desolate. Once-bustling streets were now eerily quiet, the buildings deserted. Not a soul stirred, only the faint rustling of the wind through the abandoned homes and the mournful cry of a distant raven breaking the desolate silence.

In the heart of the ancient forest, a desolate castle stood tall, its crumbling walls a stark reminder of its former glory. The once majestic towers now lay in ruins, surrounded by overgrown vines and forgotten whispers of the past. No birds sang in the empty courtyard, no footsteps echoed through the empty halls. The silence that enveloped the castle was deafening, a haunting reminder of the lives that once thrived within its walls. As the moon cast its eerie glow over the desolate landscape, a lone figure approached, drawn by the mysterious allure of the abandoned fortress.

Advanced: Richer vocabulary that stretches an upper-level reader.

After the factory closed, the area quickly became desolate. There were no people walking the streets or lights shining in the windows. Shops stood empty and silence filled the air, making it clear that the place was completely deserted by both residents and visitors.

The old mining town, once bustling with activity, now stood utterly desolate. Dust swirled through empty storefronts, and the only sound was the wind whistling through broken panes. No footsteps echoed on the main street; the place was truly deserted.

The abandoned lighthouse stood on a rocky cliff, overlooking a desolate stretch of coastline. No boats passed, no seabirds circled, and the only sound was the distant crash of waves against empty shores. Years had passed since anyone had walked these windswept rocks.

After Greg tried his hand at cooking, the kitchen looked absolutely desolate—devoid of inhabitants and visitors, as nobody dared enter. Even the family dog, who once ate an entire sock, glanced inside, whimpered, and ran for cover. Greg’s culinary adventures were now officially banned.

The abandoned amusement park, once a vibrant spectacle, was now utterly desolate. Cobwebs draped the skeletal Ferris wheel like spectral lace, and tumbleweeds, the only patrons left, gamboled across the cracked asphalt where excited children once shrieked with glee.

Challenging: Rare, high-register vocabulary for serious word lovers.

After the factory closed, Anna wandered through the desolate town. Storefronts were boarded up and no one emerged from the houses. The silence felt oppressive as if the place had been forgotten entirely, devoid of inhabitants and visitors, with nothing to break the monotony but the sound of distant wind.

The old homestead, once a nexus of community, now stood as a stark testament to abandonment. Dust motes danced in the shafts of sunlight piercing the broken panes, illuminating a scene utterly desolate. No laughter echoed, no footsteps disturbed the profound quiet, just an overwhelming emptiness.

The abandoned lighthouse stood on the rocky promontory, its paint peeling and windows cracked. Sarah gazed across the desolate landscape, feeling the weight of isolation pressing against her chest. Nothing moved except windblown sand skittering across the empty terrain.

As Marvin opened the door to his refrigerator, he was greeted by a desolate landscape of barren shelves, devoid of inhabitants and visitors except for one shriveled carrot, bravely persevering like an intrepid explorer who’d exhausted all supplies but clung stubbornly to its squalid, frostbitten existence.

The abandoned amusement park stood utterly desolate, a testament to its abrupt closure after the incident involving the rogue cotton candy machine and a flock of extremely peckish pigeons. Its Ferris wheel, a skeletal titan against the bruised sky, offered no solace, only an obsequious creak in the unceasing wind.

Difficulty

Normal — Everyday words worth reinforcing.

Appears in

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