/des'euh lay"sheuhn/ , n.
1. an act or instance of desolating.
2. the state of being desolated.
3. devastation; ruin.
4. depopulation.
5. dreariness; barrenness.
6. deprivation of companionship; loneliness.
7. sorrow; grief; woe.
8. a desolate place.
[ 1350-1400; ME desolation- (s. of desolatio ) abandonment, equiv. to desolat ( us ) (see DESOLATE) + -ion- -ION ]