Bible Dictionary
DESOLATE
Desolate means lonely, forsaken, laid waste, comfortless, barren, or without inhabitants. Scripture uses the word for individuals, cities, lands, and conditions of spiritual or emotional abandonment.
Biblical Usage
Scripture uses desolate for the lonely widow, the afflicted heart, wasted cities and lands, and barren or childless conditions. It may therefore express personal loneliness, national devastation, emotional distress, or lack of fruitfulness.