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Desolate vs Obsolete - What's the difference?

desolate | obsolete |

As adjectives the difference between desolate and obsolete

is that desolate is deserted and devoid of inhabitants while obsolete is no longer in use; gone into disuse; disused or neglected (often by preference for something newer, which replaces the subject).

As verbs the difference between desolate and obsolete

is that desolate is to deprive of inhabitants while obsolete is to cause to become obsolete.

desolate

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Deserted and devoid of inhabitants.
  • a desolate''' isle; a '''desolate''' wilderness; a '''desolate house
  • * Bible, Jer. ix. 11
  • I will make Jerusalem a den of dragons, and I will make the cities of Judah desolate , without an inhabitant.
  • * Tennyson
  • And the silvery marish flowers that throng / The desolate creeks and pools among.
  • Barren and lifeless.
  • Made unfit for habitation or use; laid waste; neglected; destroyed.
  • desolate altars
  • Dismal or dreary.
  • Sad, forlorn and hopeless.
  • He was left desolate by the early death of his wife.
  • * Keble
  • voice of the poor and desolate

    Verb

    (desolat)
  • To deprive of inhabitants.
  • To devastate or lay waste somewhere.
  • To abandon or forsake something.
  • To make someone sad, forlorn and hopeless.
  • obsolete

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • No longer in use; gone into disuse; disused or neglected (often by preference for something newer, which replaces the subject).
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-20, volume=408, issue=8845, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= The attack of the MOOCs , passage=Since the launch early last year of […] two Silicon Valley start-ups offering free education through MOOCs, massive open online courses, the ivory towers of academia have been shaken to their foundations. University brands built in some cases over centuries have been forced to contemplate the possibility that information technology will rapidly make their existing business model obsolete .}}
  • (biology) Imperfectly developed; not very distinct.
  • Usage notes

    * Nouns to which "obsolete" is often applied: word, phrase, equipment, computer, technology, weapon, machine, law, statute, currency, building, idea, skill, concept, custom, theory, tradition, institution.

    Synonyms

    * (no longer in use) ancient, antiquated, antique, archaic, disused, neglected, old, old-fashioned, out of date * abortive, obscure, rudimental

    Derived terms

    * obsoleteness

    Verb

    (obsolet)
  • (US) Oxford Dictionary To cause to become obsolete.
  • This software component has been obsoleted .
    We are in the process of obsoleting this product.

    Usage notes

    * (term) is often used in computing and other technical fields to indicate an effort to remove or replace something. * Compare

    References