English Explanatory Dictionary

desert

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A barren area of land or desolate terrain, especially one with little water or vegetation; a wasteland.
  2. In particular, a barren, arid area of land which is hot, with sandy, rocky, or parched ground.
  3. Any barren place or situation.
adj
  1. Usually of a place: abandoned, deserted, or uninhabited.
verb
  1. To leave (anything that depends on one's presence to survive, exist, or succeed), especially when contrary to a promise or obligation; to abandon; to forsake.
  2. To leave one's duty or post, especially to leave a military or naval unit without permission.
noun
  1. That which is deserved or merited; a just punishment or reward.
noun
  1. Obsolete form of dessert.

Pronunciation

/ˈdɛz.ət/ dĕz'ərt /ˈdɛz.ɚt/ en-us-desert-noun.ogg dəzärt' /dəˈzɑɹt/ /dɪˈzɜːt/ /dɪˈzɝt/ /dəˈzɝt/ en-us-desert-verb.ogg LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-desert (verb).wav dĭ-'zûrt

Word forms

desert deserts deserting deserted

Etymology

From Middle English desert (“wilderness”), from Old French desert, from Latin dēsertum, past participle of dēserō (“to abandon”). Generally displaced native Old English wēsten. False cognate of Egyptian dšrt.

Synonyms

forsaken peopleless vacant abandoned derelict desert deserted desolate discarded dropped forlorn high and dry left behind orphaned beingless disinhabited inhabitantless inhabited lifeless solitary tenantless unhabited uninhabited unoccupied unpeopled unpopulated untenanted wasteful defect

Derived words

Asian desert warbler Central Desert Chinese desert cat concrete desert daughter of the desert deagle desert apricot desert bean desert blue desert boot desert candle desert cat Desert Center desert chicory desert cooler desert cottontail desert dandelion desert date desert dolly desert fox desert fruit cake desert glue desert hare desert holly desertic deserticole deserticolous desertification desertify desert ironwood desert island desert kite desert kit fox desertland desert lavender desertlike desert lily desert locust desert lynx desert marigold desert mistletoe desert mole rat desert monitor desert mouse desert oak desert onion desertophile desert pavement desert pea desert pear desert physa desert raisin desert rat desert rheumatism desert rock desert rose desert rue desert sand desertscape desert soil

Translations

Abkhaz: ацәҳәыра Afrikaans: woestyn Akkadian: idīnum Albanian: shkretëtirë Southern Altai: чӧл Amharic: በረሃ Arabic: صَحْرَاء Arabic: صحرة Arabic: صحرا Arabic: بَرّ Aramaic: מדברא Aramaic: ܡܕܒܪܐ Armenian: անապատ Aromanian: irnjii Aromanian: pundii Aromanian: pustilii Assamese: মৰুভূমি Asturian: ermu Asturian: desiertu Azerbaijani: çöl Azerbaijani: səhra Bashkir: сүл Bashkir: сүллек Basque: basamortu Belarusian: пусты́ня Bengali: মরুভূমি Bhojpuri: रेगिस्तान Eastern Bontoc: potaw Eastern Bontoc: nakkaiang ay lota Breton: dezerzh Bulgarian: пусти́ня Burmese: သဲကန္တာရ Burmese: ကန္တာရ Buryat: сүл Carpathian Rusyn: пустыня Catalan: desert Chechen: гӏум-аре Cherokee: ᎢᎾᎨ Chichewa: chipalamba Chichewa: chipululu Chichewa: nkhwangala Chinese Cantonese: 沙漠 Chinese: гуәбый Chinese: гуәбыйтан Chinese: кунтан Chinese: савә Chinese: сатан Chinese: 沙漠 Eastern Min Chinese: 沙漠 Hakka Chinese: 沙漠 Chinese Mandarin: 沙漠 Chinese Mandarin: 砂漠 Wu Chinese: 沙漠 Chuvash: пушхир West Circassian: бгынэн Czech: poušť Danish: ørken Dutch: woestijn Dutch: woestenij Egyptian: U7:D21-G43-N25 Arabic: فَرَّ Asturian: desertar Belarusian: дэзерці́раваць Bulgarian: дезерти́рам Catalan: desertar Chinese Mandarin: 變節 /变节 Chinese Mandarin: 叛離 /叛离 Czech: dezertovat Danish: desertere Dutch: deserteren Esperanto: dizerti Finnish: karata French: déserter Galician: desertar German: desertieren German: fahnenflüchtig werden German: Fahnenflucht begehen Greek: λιποτακτώ Hebrew: עָרַק Hungarian: dezertál Hungarian: megszökik Italian: disertare Japanese: 脱走する Japanese: 変節する Japanese: 脱営する Korean: 변절하다 Korean: 탈영하다
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