desolate

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

From her earliest years, Emily thrilled to the austere glories of the landscape, with its great desolate stretches of rocky turf and rushing waterways all shaped and pummeled by winds that whistled and “wuthered.”

From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026

The delicate pitter-patter of a drum’s cymbal is the only sound to break through the thick brick wall of the obscure performance venue, Sun Space, and reach the wide, desolate Sunland Boulevard.

From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026

On de-boarding, the last station bore the look of a desolate Soviet-era structure rather than a bustling train terminal in a city where crowds typically jostle for space.

From BBC • Apr. 19, 2026

PHOENIX—On a desolate stretch of land dotted with cactuses some 30 minutes north of Phoenix, more than 30 cranes tower over a construction site 2½ times the size of New York City’s Central Park.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 24, 2026

The witch did not step toward them, she did not call to them, she merely stood there, completely still, the center of this desolate universe, while the air bowed to her.

From "Breadcrumbs" by Anne Ursu