What does desolate mean?
Word: Desolate
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Desolate means empty and lonely, with no people or life around; it can also describe someone who feels very sad and alone.
Synonyms: deserted, bare, empty, lonely
Antonyms: busy, lively
How do you spell desolate?
Syllables: des - o - late
Tricky part: There is only one s, and the middle vowel is o. Many children double the s or write desalate.
Watch out for: dessolate, desalate
Memory tip: A desolate place feels lonely, and so does its s: there is just one, standing all alone.
Desolate in a sentence
Example 1: After the fair ended, the ground looked desolate and dusty.
Example 2: The cold desert of Ladakh can seem desolate, but many animals live there.
Example 3: The puppy felt desolate when its owner went away.
Fun Fact
Desolate shares a root with solo: both come from the Latin solus, meaning alone.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word:
desolate
a) silent
b) crowded
c) barren
d) gloomy
Show answer
b) crowded. A desolate place has nobody in it; a crowded place is packed with people.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) abandoned
b) lonely
c) wilderness
d) desolat
Show answer
d) desolat. The last sound is t, but desolate still needs a silent e after it.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct letters to form a word:
d_sol_te
a) e, a
b) a, i
c) e, e
d) i, a
Show answer
a) e, a. Desolate opens with de, like desert, and the vowel before the t is an a.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
loetsdea
a) decorate
b) isolated
c) desolate
d) delicate
Show answer
c) desolate. Isolated is close, but it needs an i, and there is no i here; decorate and delicate both need a c.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which place would feel desolate?
a) a station packed for the holidays
b) a stadium during a final
c) a dry plain with no house or tree
d) a school on its sports day
Show answer
c) a dry plain with no house or tree
2. In which sentence does desolate describe a feeling, not a place?
a) Rani felt desolate after her best friend moved away.
b) The old fort stood desolate on the hill.
c) Few birds visit that desolate stretch of sand.
d) The road through the hills was desolate at night.
Show answer
a) Rani felt desolate after her best friend moved away.
