Waste vs. Desolation — What's the Difference?

Waste (or wastes) are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance which is discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use.

The act or an instance of desolating.

Use or expend carelessly, extravagantly, or to no purpose

The state of being desolate.

(of a person or a part of the body) become progressively weaker and more emaciated

Devastation; ruin

Devastate or ruin (a place)

The state of being abandoned or forsaken; loneliness

(of time) pass away

Wretchedness; misery.

(of a material, substance, or by-product) eliminated or discarded as no longer useful or required after the completion of a process

The act of desolating or laying waste; destruction of inhabitants; depopulation.

(of an area of land, typically an urban one) not used, cultivated, or built on

The state of being desolated or laid waste

An act or instance of using or expending something carelessly, extravagantly, or to no purpose

A place or country wasted and forsaken.

Unwanted or unusable material, substances, or by-products

The act of desolating or laying waste; destruction of inhabitants; depopulation.

A large area of barren, typically uninhabited land

The state of being desolated or laid waste; ruin; solitariness; destitution; gloominess.

Damage to an estate caused by an act or by neglect, especially by a life tenant.

A place or country wasted and forsaken.

To use, consume, spend, or expend thoughtlessly or carelessly.

The state of being decayed or destroyed

To cause to lose energy, strength, or vigor; exhaust, tire, or enfeeble

A bleak and desolate atmosphere

To fail to take advantage of or use for profit; lose

Sadness resulting from being forsaken or abandoned

To destroy completely

An event that results in total destruction

(Slang) To kill; murder.

To lose energy, strength, weight, or vigor; become weak or enfeebled

To pass without being put to use

The act or an instance of wasting or the condition of being wasted

A place, region, or land that is uninhabited or uncultivated; a desert or wilderness.

A devastated or destroyed region, town, or building; a ruin.

An unusable or unwanted substance or material, such as a waste product

Something, such as steam, that escapes without being used.

Garbage; trash.

The undigested residue of food eliminated from the body; excrement.

Regarded or discarded as worthless or useless

Used as a conveyance or container for refuse

Excreted from the body

Of material, useless by-products, or damaged, unsaleable products; garbage; rubbish.

Or urine.

A wasteland; an uninhabited desolate region; a wilderness or desert.

A place that has been laid waste or destroyed.

A large tract of uncultivated land.

(historical) The part of the land of a manor (of whatever size) not used for cultivation or grazing, nowadays treated as common land.

A vast expanse of water.

A disused mine or part of one.

The action or progress of wasting; extravagant consumption or ineffectual use.

Large abundance of something, specifically without it being used.

Gradual loss or decay.

A decaying of the body by disease; atrophy; wasting away.

(rare) destruction or devastation caused by war or natural disasters; see "to lay waste".

(legal) A cause of action which may be brought by the owner of a future interest in property against the current owner of that property to prevent the current owner from degrading the value or character of the property, either intentionally or through neglect.

(geology) Material derived by mechanical and chemical erosion from the land, carried by streams to the sea.

Useless and contemptible.

Uncultivated, uninhabited.

Barren; desert.

Rejected as being defective; eliminated as being worthless; produced in excess.

Superfluous; needless.

Dismal; gloomy; cheerless.

Unfortunate; disappointing. en

(transitive) To devastate; to destroy.

(transitive) To squander (money or resources) uselessly; to spend (time) idly.

To kill; to murder.

(transitive) To wear away by degrees; to impair gradually; to deteriorate; to diminish by constant loss; to use up; to consume; to spend; to wear out.

(intransitive) To gradually lose weight, weaken, become frail.

(intransitive) To be diminished; to lose bulk, substance, strength, value etc. gradually.

(legal) To damage, impair, or injure (an estate, etc.) voluntarily, or by allowing the buildings, fences, etc., to fall into decay.

Desolate; devastated; stripped; bare; hence, dreary; dismal; gloomy; cheerless.

Lying unused; unproductive; worthless; valueless; refuse; rejected; as, waste land; waste paper.

Lost for want of occupiers or use; superfluous.

To bring to ruin; to devastate; to desolate; to destroy.

To wear away by degrees; to impair gradually; to diminish by constant loss; to use up; to consume; to spend; to wear out.

To spend unnecessarily or carelessly; to employ prodigally; to expend without valuable result; to apply to useless purposes; to lavish vainly; to squander; to cause to be lost; to destroy by scattering or injury.

To damage, impair, or injure, as an estate, voluntarily, or by suffering the buildings, fences, etc., to go to decay.

To be diminished; to lose bulk, substance, strength, value, or the like, gradually; to be consumed; to dwindle; to grow less; - commonly used with away.

To procure or sustain a reduction of flesh; - said of a jockey in preparation for a race, etc.

The act of wasting, or the state of being wasted; a squandering; needless destruction; useless consumption or expenditure; devastation; loss without equivalent gain; gradual loss or decrease, by use, wear, or decay; as, a waste of property, time, labor, words, etc.

That which is wasted or desolate; a devastated, uncultivated, or wild country; a deserted region; an unoccupied or unemployed space; a dreary void; a desert; a wilderness.

That which is of no value; worthless remnants; refuse. Specifically: Remnants of cops, or other refuse resulting from the working of cotton, wool, hemp, and the like, used for wiping machinery, absorbing oil in the axle boxes of railway cars, etc.

Spoil, destruction, or injury, done to houses, woods, fences, lands, etc., by a tenant for life or for years, to the prejudice of the heir, or of him in reversion or remainder.

Old or abandoned workings, whether left as vacant space or filled with refuse.

Material derived by mechanical and chemical erosion from the land, carried by streams to the sea.

Any materials unused and rejected as worthless or unwanted;

Useless or profitless activity; using or expending or consuming thoughtlessly or carelessly;

The trait of wasting resources;

An uninhabited wilderness that is worthless for cultivation;

(law) reduction in the value of an estate caused by act or neglect

Spend thoughtlessly; throw away;

Use inefficiently or inappropriately;

Get rid of;

Run off as waste;

Get rid of (someone who may be a threat) by killing;

Spend extravagantly;

Lose vigor, health, or flesh, as through grief;

Cause to grow thin or weak;

Devastate or ravage;

Waste away;

Disposed of as useless;

Located in a dismal or remote area; desolate;