OLATE, verb transitive [Latin To lay waste, alone.] 1. To deprive of inhabitants; to make desert. The earth was nearly desolated by the flood. 2. To lay waste; to ruin; to ravage; to destroy improvements or works of art. An inundation desolates fields. Whole countries have been desolated by armies.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI