Desolate \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 Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

Desolate \Des"o*late\, a. [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.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)