Link Centre Dictionary

desert

de·sert

UK/dɪˈzɜːt/ US/dɪˈzɝt/ common
verb (2) noun (1) adjective (1)

verb

1.

leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch

  • “The mother deserted her children”
Synonyms
2.

desert (a cause, a country or an army), often in order to join the opposing cause, country, or army

  • “If soldiers deserted Hitler”
Synonyms

noun

1.

an arid region with little or no vegetation

adjective

1.

located in a dismal or remote area; desolate

  • “a desert island”
  • “a godforsaken wilderness crossroads”
  • “a wild stretch of land”
  • “waste places”
Synonyms
Similar

Origin

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.

Phrases

  • Asian desert warbler
  • Central Desert
  • Chinese desert cat
  • concrete desert
  • daughter of the desert
  • desert apricot
  • desert bean
  • desert blue
  • desert the diet

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

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Entails

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.