n. 1 waste, wilderness, wasteland, dust bowl The nearest oasis was fifty miles away across the desert
adj. 2 barren, desolate, uninhabited, unpeopled, lonely, deserted; arid, bare, vacant, empty, wild, uncultivated I was marooned on a desert island
v. 3 forsake, leave, abandon; jilt, throw over; maroon, strand, leave to twist (slowly) in the wind; Colloq run or walk out on, leave flat or in the lurch, leave high and dry His courage deserted him when he saw the child's eyes He has deserted his wife for some floozie. 4 abscond, quit, run away (from), defect, abandon; Military slang go over the hill He deserted and will be court-martialled