Word · Frequency #11752
desolate
使荒废；使沦为废墟；彻底破坏
to cause great damage to a place, leaving it empty or in ruins
- 1.
To deprive of inhabitants.
使无人居住
- 2.
leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch
抛弃需要或依赖你的人；使陷入困境
- 3.
To devastate or lay waste somewhere.
使某地荒废或沦为废墟
- 4.
reduce in population
使人口减少
- 5.
To abandon or forsake something.
抛弃或放弃某物
- 6.
cause extensive destruction or ruin utterly
造成大规模破坏或彻底毁灭
- 7.
To make someone sad, forlorn and hopeless.
使某人悲伤、孤独和绝望
使人口减少；使无人居住；抛弃；遗弃；舍弃；使悲伤；使孤独绝望；使无人居住；抛弃需要或依赖你的人；使陷入困境
In use
The prolonged drought desolated the once fertile farmland.
He felt completely desolated when his closest friend moved away.
The invading army desolated the entire village, leaving nothing standing.
desolate + noun (person)
此用法较正式，常用于文学语境。
He desolated his family when he moved abroad.
他移居国外，遗弃了家人。
desolate + noun (place)
常与战争、灾难等词搭配。
The war desolated the entire region.
战争使整个地区沦为废墟。
be desolated + by + noun
被动语态，强调主语遭受破坏。
Connections
Collocations
- desolate the land
- 使土地荒芜
- The invading army desolated the land.入侵的军队使土地变得荒芜。
- desolate a city
- 使城市沦为废墟
- The earthquake desolated the city in minutes.地震几分钟内就将这座城市变成了废墟。
- be desolated by
- 因…而悲痛欲绝
- She was desolated by the news of her friend's death.她因朋友去世的消息而悲痛欲绝。
- desolate one's family
- 抛弃家人
- He desolated his family when he moved abroad and never returned.他搬到国外再也没回来，抛弃了家人。
- desolate the population
- 使人口锐减
- The famine desolated the population of the region.饥荒使该地区的人口锐减。
Synonyms
Learner notes
Memory Tip
把desolate拆成de+sol+ate联想：太阳(sol)被吃掉(ate)了，大地荒芜无人烟，令人孤独绝望。
Context & Register
语域：formal 常见场景：literary prose、formal writing、historical narrative desolate 作动词时通常用于正式或文学语境，多表示“使荒废”或“使凄凉/悲伤”，日常口语中较少使用；非正式场合更常用 devastate 或 make sb feel sad/abandoned。
Grammar Note
作及物动词，意为‘使荒凉、使孤独’，后接宾语。
Pronunciation & Spelling
No exact rhymes for /ˈdɛsələt/ are listed. 'isolate' and 'regulate' end in -ate pronounced /eɪt/, unlike 'desolate' (here /ət/). 'chocolate' and 'consulate' have a weak final syllable /lət/ but a different stressed vowel. 'separate' (adj.) shares the unstressed /ət/ ending with 'desolate' but is not a rhyme.
Usage priority
Collins 词频等级为 1，建议结合例句记忆，而不是只背中文释义。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY, WORDNET.