desolation

[ des-uh-ley-shuh n ]

/ ˌdɛs əˈleɪ ʃən /

an act or instance of desolating.

the state of being desolated.

devastation; ruin.

depopulation.

dreariness; barrenness.

deprivation of companionship; loneliness.

sorrow; grief; woe.

a desolate place.

Origin of desolation

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin dēsōlātiōn- (stem of dēsōlātiō) abandonment, equivalent to dēsōlāt(us) (see desolate) + -iōn- -ion

It is the desolation of exiled Tibetans that dominates the tenor here, but it is not the only one.

The Real India Revealed |Rafia Zakaria |August 6, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
As you work through the collection, the scenes become more stagnant, more still, as desolation takes over.

David Lynch Goes From Film to Photos with ‘The Factory Photographs’ |Nico Hines |January 22, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Some people assume that if you can't speak or hear, you live in a cage of silence and desolation.

This Is What It Is Like To Be Deaf From Birth |Quora Contributor |December 23, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
She vividly describes the desolation and frustration of incarceration and puts Knox in every scene.

My Prison Time With Amanda |Barbie Latza Nadeau |September 14, 2010 |DAILY BEAST

Surrounded as they were with desolation, dangers and misery, they will be remembered for their worth and devotion to duty.

The Red Cross in Peace and War |Clara Barton
The Venetian plain immediately east of the Piave is a scene of desolation.

The Story of the Great War, Volume VIII (of VIII) |various
Together they made a mocking and a desolation of her love and her life.

The Cab of the Sleeping Horse |John Reed Scott
How small, how insignificant they seemed amid this hungry emptiness of desolation.

Incredible Adventures |Algernon Blackwood
Priscilla had not heard from Travers in ten days, and this added to her sense of desolation.

The Place Beyond the Winds |Harriet T. Comstock

desolation

/ (ˌdɛsəˈleɪʃən) /

the act of desolating or the state of being desolated; ruin or devastation

solitary misery; wretchedness

a desolate region; barren waste