desert

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

I

n. waste, wilderness, solitude. See uselessness, seclusion.

II

v. leave, forsake, abandon; secede, run away; leave in the lurch, be faithless, ditch (sl.). See avoidance, relinquishment. — n. reward, due, merit. See justice.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

Syn. waste, sand, wastelands, sahara, wilderness, badlands, barren plains, barrens, arid region, deserted region, sand dunes, lava beds, uncultivated expanse, infertile area, infertile region, salt flats, alkali flats, abandoned country, dust bowl; see also wilderness .

See Synonym Study at waste . Famous deserts include: Sahara, Kalahari, Kara Kum, Great Basin, Sonoran, Painted, Death Valley, Mojave, Atakama, Negev, Arabian, Rub" al Khali, Great Sandy, Dahna, Patagonian, Persian, Samnan, Tarim, Sinkiang, Gobi, Shamo, Great Victoria, Great Australian, Gidi, Libyan. v.

1. [To abandon in time of trouble]

Syn. forsake, leave, quit; see abandon 1 , 2 .

2. [To leave military service, one's post, etc.]

Syn. defect, be absent without leave, abandon one's post, sneak off, make off, abscond, run away from duty, run away from military service, go AWOL*, decamp, violate one's oath, leave unlawfully, go over the hill*, rat*, take French leave*, play truant*; see also abandon 2 .

Ant. obey*, stay, do one's duty.

See Synonym Study at abandon .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

wasteland, barrens, *parched Eden, *Devil's backyard, badlands, flats, dunes, *desiccated landscape, *neglected plot in God's garden, no man's land, dustbowl, *Euclidian plane, *scorched plain, *thirsty terrain, wilderness, Sahara, Gobi, Kalahari, Mojave. ''The sea-like, pathless, limitless waste.''—Longfellow. ''An old man in a dry season.''—T.S. Eliot. ''A wild of sand.''— Addison.

WORD FIND

• ancient desert mountain reduced to eroded nubbin: inselberg

• characterized by mesas, gulleys, channels, erosion: badlands

• dried-up river bed: arroyo

• dune, crescent-shaped: barchan

• dune, huge, whalelike: whaleback

• dune, long or elongated: seif dune, sword dune

• dune, pyramidlike: pyramid

• dune, ridged or wavy: transverse dune

• dune, starlike: star

• dusty whirlwind of small size and duration: dust devil

• fertile area, fed by spring: oasis

• mosaic-like ground of colorful, polished pebbles: desert pavement, gibber plain, reg

• mountain that is eroded and flattened on top: mesa, butte

• nomadic Arab: Bedouin

• optical illusion: mirage

• pertaining to: eremic

• plain that becomes temporary lake after rain: playa

• plants: barrel cactus, century plant, cereus, cholla, creosote bush, ironwood, Joshua tree, mesquite, ocotillo, prickly pear cactus, sagebrush, saguaro

• rain that evaporates before hitting ground: phantom rain

• salty plain left by evaporation of lake: salt flat

• sandy area of the Sahara: erg

• semidesert plain: steppe

• valley that is flat and arid: bolson

II

v.

abandon, leave behind, forsake, leave, give up, *walk, *leave high and dry, strand, quit, maroon, vacate, jilt, defect, renounce, *bail out, *leave in the lurch.

ANT.: remain, stay, stick with

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) noun A tract of unproductive land: badlands, barren (often used in plural), waste, wasteland, wilderness. See RICH.

V

(Roget's Thesaurus II) noun Something justly deserved. Often used in plural: comeuppance, due, guerdon, recompense, reward, wage (often used in plural). Informal: lump1 (used in plural). Idioms: what is coming to one, what one has coming. See REWARD.

VI

(Roget's Thesaurus II) verb 1. To give up or leave without intending to return or claim again: abandon, forsake, leave1, quit, throw over. Idioms: run out on, walk out on. See KEEP. 2. To abandon one's cause or party usually to join another: apostatize, defect, renegade, tergiversate, turn. Slang: rat. Idioms: change sides, turn one's coat. See APPROACH, TRUST.