a. [ Cf. L. desertus, p. p. of deserere, and F. désert. See 2d Desert. ] Of or pertaining to a desert; forsaken; without life or cultivation; unproductive; waste; barren; wild; desolate; solitary; as, they landed on a desert island. [ 1913 Webster ]

He . . . went aside privately into a desert place. Luke ix. 10. [ 1913 Webster ]

Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air. Gray. [ 1913 Webster ]

Desert flora (Bot.), the assemblage of plants growing naturally in a desert, or in a dry and apparently unproductive place. --
Desert hare (Zool.), a small hare (Lepus sylvaticus, var. Arizonæ) inhabiting the deserts of the Western United States. --
Desert mouse (Zool.), an American mouse (Hesperomys eremicus), living in the Western deserts. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Deserted; p. pr. & vb. n. Deserting. ] [ Cf. L. desertus, p. p. of deserere to desert, F. déserter. See 2d Desert. ] 1. To leave (especially something which one should stay by and support); to leave in the lurch; to abandon; to forsake; -- implying blame, except sometimes when used of localities; as, to desert a friend, a principle, a cause, one's country. “The deserted fortress.” Prescott. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Mil.) To abandon (the service) without leave; to forsake in violation of duty; to abscond from; as, to desert the army; to desert one's colors. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. deserte, desserte, merit, recompense, fr. deservir, desservir, to merit. See Deserve. ] That which is deserved; the reward or the punishment justly due; claim to recompense, usually in a good sense; right to reward; merit. [ 1913 Webster ]

According to their deserts will I judge them. Ezek. vii. 27. [ 1913 Webster ]

Andronicus, surnamed Pius
For many good and great deserts to Rome. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

His reputation falls far below his desert. A. Hamilton.

Syn. -- Merit; worth; excellence; due. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To abandon a service without leave; to quit military service without permission, before the expiration of one's term; to abscond. [ 1913 Webster ]

The soldiers . . . deserted in numbers. Bancroft.

Syn. -- To abandon; forsake; leave; relinquish; renounce; quit; depart from; abdicate. See Abandon. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. désert, L. desertum, from desertus solitary, desert, pp. of deserere to desert; de- + serere to join together. See Series. ] 1. A deserted or forsaken region; a barren tract incapable of supporting population, as the vast sand plains of Asia and Africa which are destitute of moisture and vegetation. [ 1913 Webster ]

A dreary desert and a gloomy waste. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A tract, which may be capable of sustaining a population, but has been left unoccupied and uncultivated; a wilderness; a solitary place. [ 1913 Webster ]

He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord. Is. li. 3. [ 1913 Webster ]

Also figuratively. [ 1913 Webster ]

Before her extended
Dreary and vast and silent, the desert of life. Longfellow. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. having no residents; as, deserted villages.
Syn. -- uninhabited. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. no longer used by people.
Syn. -- abandoned, derelict. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

3. remote from civilization; as, the victim was lured to a deserted spot. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

4. being left by another without support or assistance; left in the lurch; -- of people; as, deserted wives and children. In this sense, the label implies some level of dependence of the person(s) being deserted on those deserting them.

(d&euptack_;*z&etilde_;rt"&etilde_;r), n. One who forsakes a duty, a cause or a party, a friend, or any one to whom he owes service; especially, a soldier or a seaman who abandons the service without leave; one guilty of desertion. [1913 Webster]

a. Meritorious. [ R. ] Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. desertio: cf. F. désertion. ] 1. The act of deserting or forsaking; abandonment of a service, a cause, a party, a friend, or any post of duty; the quitting of one's duties willfully and without right; esp., an absconding from military or naval service. [ 1913 Webster ]

Such a resignation would have seemed to his superior a desertion or a reproach. Bancroft. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The state of being forsaken; desolation; as, the king in his desertion. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Abandonment by God; spiritual despondency. [ 1913 Webster ]

The spiritual agonies of a soul under desertion. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Without desert. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]