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Flag: gbEnglishMerriam-Webster Dictionary
ief, sadness
  • loneliness

    • Definition

    • the action of desolating //… the pitiful desolation and slaughter of World War I. — D. F. Fleming
    • grief, sadness //… he put his trembling hands to his head, and gave a wild ringing scream, the cry of desolation. — George Eliot
      loneliness
    • devastation, ruin //a scene of utter desolation
    • barren wasteland //looked out across the desolation
    Synonyms & Antonyms
    Synonyms
    blue devils blues dejection depression despond despondence despondency disconsolateness dispiritedness doldrums dolefulness downheartedness dreariness dumps forlornness gloom gloominess glumness heartsickness joylessness melancholy miserableness mopes mournfulness oppression sadness sorrowfulness unhappiness
    Antonyms
    bliss blissfulness ecstasy elatedness elation euphoria exhilaration exuberance exultation felicity gladness gladsomeness happiness heaven intoxication joy joyfulness joyousness jubilation rapture rapturousness
    Examples
    • //She sank into a state of desolation and despair.
    • //photos that show the desolation of war
    First Known Use
    14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
    History and Etymology
    Middle English desolacion, desolacioun "state of distress or hardship, feeling of distress, affliction," borrowed from Anglo-French & Late Latin; Anglo-French desolacion, borrowed from Late Latin dēsōlātiōn-, dēsōlātiō "abandonment, solitude," from Latin dēsōlāre "to leave all alone, forsake, empty of inhabitants" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at desolate entry 1
    desolation
    noun

    Synonyms & Antonyms

    Definition

    • the action of desolating //… the pitiful desolation and slaughter of World War I. — D. F. Fleming
    • grief, sadness //… he put his trembling hands to his head, and gave a wild ringing scream, the cry of desolation. — George Eliot
      loneliness
    • devastation, ruin //a scene of utter desolation
    • barren wasteland //looked out across the desolation
    Synonyms & Antonyms
    Synonyms
    blue devils blues dejection depression despond despondence despondency disconsolateness dispiritedness doldrums dolefulness downheartedness dreariness dumps forlornness gloom gloominess glumness heartsickness joylessness melancholy miserableness mopes mournfulness oppression sadness sorrowfulness unhappiness
    Antonyms
    bliss blissfulness ecstasy elatedness elation euphoria exhilaration exuberance exultation felicity gladness gladsomeness happiness heaven intoxication joy joyfulness joyousness jubilation rapture rapturousness
    Examples
    • //She sank into a state of desolation and despair.
    • //photos that show the desolation of war
    First Known Use
    14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
    History and Etymology
    Middle English desolacion, desolacioun "state of distress or hardship, feeling of distress, affliction," borrowed from Anglo-French & Late Latin; Anglo-French desolacion, borrowed from Late Latin dēsōlātiōn-, dēsōlātiō "abandonment, solitude," from Latin dēsōlāre "to leave all alone, forsake, empty of inhabitants" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at desolate entry 1
    desolation
    noun

    Synonyms & Antonyms

    Definition

    • the action of desolating //… the pitiful desolation and slaughter of World War I. — D. F. Fleming
    • grief, sadness //… he put his trembling hands to his head, and gave a wild ringing scream, the cry of desolation. — George Eliot
      loneliness
    • devastation, ruin //a scene of utter desolation
    • barren wasteland //looked out across the desolation
    Synonyms & Antonyms
    Synonyms
    blue devils blues dejection depression despond despondence despondency disconsolateness dispiritedness doldrums dolefulness downheartedness dreariness dumps forlornness gloom gloominess glumness heartsickness joylessness melancholy miserableness mopes mournfulness oppression sadness sorrowfulness unhappiness
    Antonyms
    bliss blissfulness ecstasy elatedness elation euphoria exhilaration exuberance exultation felicity gladness gladsomeness happiness heaven intoxication joy joyfulness joyousness jubilation rapture rapturousness
    Examples
    • //She sank into a state of desolation and despair.
    • //photos that show the desolation of war
    First Known Use
    14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
    History and Etymology
    Middle English desolacion, desolacioun "state of distress or hardship, feeling of distress, affliction," borrowed from Anglo-French & Late Latin; Anglo-French desolacion, borrowed from Late Latin dēsōlātiōn-, dēsōlātiō "abandonment, solitude," from Latin dēsōlāre "to leave all alone, forsake, empty of inhabitants" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at desolate entry 1
    desolation
    noun

    Synonyms & Antonyms

    Definition

    • the action of desolating //… the pitiful desolation and slaughter of World War I. — D. F. Fleming
    • grief, sadness //… he put his trembling hands to his head, and gave a wild ringing scream, the cry of desolation. — George Eliot
      loneliness
    • devastation, ruin //a scene of utter desolation
    • barren wasteland //looked out across the desolation
    Synonyms & Antonyms
    Synonyms
    blue devils blues dejection depression despond despondence despondency disconsolateness dispiritedness doldrums dolefulness downheartedness dreariness dumps forlornness gloom gloominess glumness heartsickness joylessness melancholy miserableness mopes mournfulness oppression sadness sorrowfulness unhappiness
    Antonyms
    bliss blissfulness ecstasy elatedness elation euphoria exhilaration exuberance exultation felicity gladness gladsomeness happiness heaven intoxication joy joyfulness joyousness jubilation rapture rapturousness
    Examples
    • //She sank into a state of desolation and despair.
    • //photos that show the desolation of war
    First Known Use
    14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
    History and Etymology
    Middle English desolacion, desolacioun "state of distress or hardship, feeling of distress, affliction," borrowed from Anglo-French & Late Latin; Anglo-French desolacion, borrowed from Late Latin dēsōlātiōn-, dēsōlātiō "abandonment, solitude," from Latin dēsōlāre "to leave all alone, forsake, empty of inhabitants" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at desolate entry 1
    desolation
    noun

    Synonyms & Antonyms

    Definition

    • the action of desolating //… the pitiful desolation and slaughter of World War I. — D. F. Fleming
    • grief, sadness //… he put his trembling hands to his head, and gave a wild ringing scream, the cry of desolation. — George Eliot
      loneliness
    • devastation, ruin //a scene of utter desolation
    • barren wasteland //looked out across the desolation
    Synonyms & Antonyms
    Synonyms
    blue devils blues dejection depression despond despondence despondency disconsolateness dispiritedness doldrums dolefulness downheartedness dreariness dumps forlornness gloom gloominess glumness heartsickness joylessness melancholy miserableness mopes mournfulness oppression sadness sorrowfulness unhappiness
    Antonyms
    bliss blissfulness ecstasy elatedness elation euphoria exhilaration exuberance exultation felicity gladness gladsomeness happiness heaven intoxication joy joyfulness joyousness jubilation rapture rapturousness
    Examples
    • //She sank into a state of desolation and despair.
    • //photos that show the desolation of war
    First Known Use
    14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
    History and Etymology
    Middle English desolacion, desolacioun "state of distress or hardship, feeling of distress, affliction," borrowed from Anglo-French & Late Latin; Anglo-French desolacion, borrowed from Late Latin dēsōlātiōn-, dēsōlātiō "abandonment, solitude," from Latin dēsōlāre "to leave all alone, forsake, empty of inhabitants" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at desolate entry 1
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