DESERTED Synonyms: 102 Similar and Opposite Words

deserted 1 of 2

adjective

as in abandoned

left unoccupied or unused we had the deserted beach all to ourselves

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

deserted

2 of 2

verb

past tense of desert

as in rejected

to leave (a cause or party) often in order to take up another the volunteer became disillusioned with his candidate and deserted to a political rival

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in left

to cause to remain behind deserted the kids at the food court for some independent shopping

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of deserted

Adjective

The suitcase containing her body was found soon afterward by railway tracks in a deserted area. — ABC News, 12 Oct. 2026 Supporting this theory, the population of Lauriacum increased threefold over the next fifty years, with the deserted settlement now being used as a quarry. — Anne Doran, ARTnews.com, 29 Sep. 2026 On the other side of the dark matter manhole, the pair find themselves on a deserted planet which seems to have already been utterly destroyed. — Katie Campione, Deadline, 27 Sep. 2026 But now, the deserted storefront is filled with energy, worship, and purpose. — La'tasha Givens, CBS News, 14 Sep. 2026 The streets are deserted, the glow of the floodlights on the wreckage fade behind him. — Jeff Goodell, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026 The landscape of the deserted street was becoming all red sand and brown stone. — Alex Jovanovich, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026 Among all the far-off places, and all the deserted and unknown cities, among all the lawless, godless regions, the Guayrá was an oasis. — Literary Hub, 14 Aug. 2026 The red-brick Southeast Lighthouse, perched atop the Mohegan Bluffs, is all but deserted. — Lindsay Cohn, Travel + Leisure, 9 Aug. 2026

Verb

Propped up by strong finishing, Tottenham were on 11 points at this stage a year ago, but soon reverted to their relegation-battling baseline once that ruthlessness deserted them. — Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026 Asked whether Vuitton needed to take more drastic action to win back aspirational consumers, who have deserted the luxury sector in droves, Cabanis cautioned against lowering prices. — Joelle Diderich, Footwear News, 12 Oct. 2026 In March, Fedorov said about 2 million Ukrainian men were evading service, while about 200,000 soldiers had deserted or left their units without authorization. — Samya Kullab, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026 In the process, the room itself is illuminated, revealing a workshop deserted in a hurry by its artisans, clay, sawdust, fabric, paper, and paint scattered across the atelier workbenches. — Liam Hess, Vogue, 9 Sep. 2026 Life and death are entangled, like a once-prosperous but now deserted community. — Jonathan Flint, Harpers Magazine, 1 Sep. 2026 In August, Rome is deserted as locals ditch the sweltering city for the sea, but everyone returns in the fall, refreshed and energized for the season ahead. — Laura Itzkowitz, Travel + Leisure, 21 Aug. 2026 Another neighbor said the apartment was deserted when police arrived. — Kerry Burke, New York Daily News, 12 Aug. 2026 One season on our family farm, deer deserted a tree stand that had produced results for years. — David Farbman, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for deserted

Adjective

By the time viewers reach hour 15, the staff has spent an entire shift navigating a cyberattack that forces the emergency department to abandon digital systems, a nonstop influx of Fourth of July emergencies and an abandoned baby.

— Tanya Fedak, Variety, 25 Aug. 2026
According to the gallery, the 25-minute film is set in a semi-abandoned hotel near Tokyo and reimagines the Greek myth of the goddess Persephone’s abduction by Hades.

— Leigh Anne Miller, ARTnews.com, 16 June 2026

Definition of abandoned

Verb

The Offer At My Front Door During my time on the council, a developer appealed to us after the planning board rejected his plan for condos overlooking the largest lake in town.

— Jim Carlough, Forbes.com, 26 Oct. 2026
The bill is due before lawmakers on Tuesday, after the finance committee rejected it.

— Ruben Nyanguila, semafor.com, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of rejected

Verb

Running out of fuel might leave a car stranded, but a satellite keeps moving.

— Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 25 Oct. 2026
Before midday, rescuers in a state helicopter were trying to reach two people stranded in a motor home after trying to escape floodwaters, said Archuleta County Sheriff Mike Le Roux.

— MEAD GRUVER, Arkansas Online, 24 Oct. 2026

Definition of stranded

Adjective

The residents occasionally gather in a disused rec center but the meetings devolve into rants about immigrants, junkies, thugs and vigilantism.

— Jessica Kiang, Variety, 26 Sep. 2026
At least 14 artisanal miners are dead and scores are injured at a disused mine in South Africa, police said Tuesday.

— ABC News, ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of disused

Adjective

The television ad begins with a dark video of an empty swing and the faint sound of children’s voices in the background, then shifts to footage of vacant pews inside a church.

— Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 25 Oct. 2026
The presidency in this Caribbean nation of 12 million has been vacant since the 2021 assassination of Jovenel Moïse.

— Widlore Mérancourt, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of vacant

Adjective

Markwayne Mullin, the secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, alleged that the Biden administration was derelict in its duty by failing to vet the sponsors of the children and to conduct wellness checks to ensure their safety.

— Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 11 June 2026
Once the colony grew, the birds roosted in a derelict military barracks nearby, later returning to the pine forest when the facility was renovated.

— Amarachi Orie, CNN Money, 14 May 2026

Definition of derelict

Adjective

On Monday, the department formally removed the vacated Biden-era rule from the Code of Federal Regulations and restored the earlier regulatory language.

— Jackson Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2026
Food Lion has since announced plans to fill the vacated space at 5706 Wyalong Drive.

— Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of vacated

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desert

deserted

deserter

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Style

“Deserted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deserted. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of deserted

adjective

verb

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