desolates

verb

present tense third-person singular of desolate
as in destroys
to bring to a complete end the physical soundness, existence, or usefulness of totally desolated the city with aerial bombs

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for desolates
  1. destroys
  2. ruins
  3. devastates
  4. demolishes
  5. shatters
  6. wrecks
Verb
  • Unlike a measurement that absorbs or destroys the photons, this method can extract information while preserving the photons themselves.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Raking or shredding those leaves destroys the next generation.
    — Manjot Kaur Sidhu, The Conversation, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of destroys
Verb
  • George Santos simply cannot get up After surprising the DS by passing the first task — falling out of a hovering helicopter backward — Santos ruins his big moment by struggling to swim to the dock and not being able to lift himself out of the water.
    — Sarah Hearon, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Nothing ruins an outfit faster than an ill-fitting bra, which is why this V-neck option caught our eye.
    — Jacqueline Tempera, PEOPLE, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of ruins
Verb
  • As climate chaos causes oceans to swallow coastlands, and as surging water displaces and devastates communities, social survival will demand that people find ways to live and work with – and on – the water.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The urban planner and former professor also knows what happens next after a powerful earthquake devastates whole communities.
    — Luis Giraldo, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of devastates
Verb
  • An $8,000 Ryvid Anthem or a $10,000 Maeving RM1S will deliver broadly similar urban usability, while the $12,500 Zero FXE absolutely demolishes it on power-per-dollar.
    — Utkarsh Sood June 12, New Atlas, 12 June 2026
  • The latest filing demolishes the timeworn claim that DOGE was infiltrated into Social Security in order to responsibly ferret out fraud and overspending.
    — Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2026
Definition of demolishes
Verb
  • Barry Bonds wraps up his record-breaking season with his 73rd homer and shatters the slugging percentage record that Babe Ruth had owned for 81 years.
    — Senior Editor, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026
  • When a severe heatwave shatters her family’s fragile routine and exposes her father’s dementia, Anna’s world is thrown into uncertainty.
    — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of shatters
Verb
  • If checking your score reliably wrecks your morning, the device isn’t working for you.
    — J. David Creswell, The Conversation, 6 Oct. 2026
  • That’s because even ordinary winds – and far worse, storms and earthquakes – cause tall buildings to sway, which ruins people’s concentration, wrecks their mood, and even exhausts them.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 24 July 2026
Definition of wrecks
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

desolateness
desolates
desolating
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Cite this Entry

“Desolates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desolates. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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