desolating

adjective

1. left alone; lonely; solitary
2. uninhabited; deserted
3. made uninhabitable; laid waste; in a ruinous state
4. forlorn; wretched

Etymology: ME desolat < L desolatus, pp. of desolare, to leave alone, forsake, strip of inhabitants < de-, intens. + solare, to make lonely < solus, sole

transitive verb desolated -·lat′ed, desolating -·lat′·ing

1. to make desolate; rid of inhabitants
2. to make uninhabitable; lay waste; devastate
3. to forsake; abandon
4. to make forlorn, wretched, etc.

Etymology: ME desolaten < the adj.