• (British) IPA: /ˌdɛsəˈleɪʃən/

desolation

1. The act of desolating or laying waste; destruction of inhabitants; depopulation.
2. The state of being desolated or laid waste

   Synonyms: ruin, solitariness, destitution, gloom, gloominess

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), imprinted at London: By Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981 ↗, Proverbs 1:26–27 ↗:

     I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.

3. A place or country wasted and forsaken.

• German: Verwüsten, Verwüstung

• German: Verwüstetsein, Verwüstung, Verlassenheit, Trostlosigkeit

• German: Ort des Elends, Wüstung, Wüstenei, Wüste