desert(n = noun.location) - arid land with little or no vegetation;
is a kind of biome, parcel, parcel of land, piece of ground, piece of land, tract
has parts: oasis
has particulars: arabian desert, great arabian desert, arabian desert, eastern desert, atacama desert, australian desert, great australian desert, black rock desert, chihuahuan desert, colorado desert, dasht-e-kavir, great salt desert, kavir desert, dasht-e-lut, lut desert, death valley, gibson desert, gila desert, gobi, gobi desert, great sandy desert, great victoria desert, kalahari, kalahari desert, kara kum, qara qum, turkestan desert, kizil kum, kyzyl kum, qizil qum, libyan desert, mohave, mohave desert, mojave, mojave desert, namib desert, an nafud, an nefud, nafud, nefud, negev, negev desert, nubian desert, painted desert, patagonian desert, ar rimsal, dahna, great sandy desert, rub al-khali, sahara, sahara desert, simpson desert, sinai, sinai desert, sonoran desert, syrian desert, taklamakan desert, taklimakan desert, great indian desert, thar desert

1.  desert(v = verb.cognition) abandon, desolate, forsake - leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch; "The mother deserted her children"
is one way to leave
Derived forms noun deserter₂, noun deserter₁, noun desertion₁
Sample sentences: Sam cannot desert Sue

2.  desert(v = verb.social) defect - desert (a cause, a country or an army), often in order to join the opposing cause, country, or army; "If soldiers deserted Hitler's army, they were shot"
is one way to flee, fly, take flight
Derived forms noun deserter₂, noun deserter₁, noun desertion₂
Sample sentences: Somebody ----s; Somebody ----s PP

3.  desert(v = verb.motion) - leave behind; "the students deserted the campus after the end of exam period"
is one way to go away, go forth, leave
Sample sentences: Somebody ----s something

desert, v.
1 tr. abandon, give up, leave (deserted the sinking ship).
2 tr. forsake or abandon (a cause or a person, people, etc., having claims on one) (deserted his wife and children).
3 tr. fail (his presence of mind deserted him).
4 intr. Mil. run away (esp. from military service).
5 tr. (as deserted adj.) empty, abandoned (a deserted house).

Derivative:
deserter n. (in sense 4 of v.). desertion n.

desert, n. & adj.
--n. a dry barren often sand-covered area of land, characteristically desolate, waterless, and without vegetation; an uninteresting or barren subject, period, etc. (a cultural desert).
--adj.
1 uninhabited, desolate.
2 uncultivated, barren.

Idiom:
desert boot a suede etc. boot reaching to or extending just above the ankle. desert island a remote (usu. tropical) island presumed to be uninhabited. desert rat Brit. colloq. a soldier of the 7th British armoured division (with the jerboa as a badge) in the N. African desert campaign of 1941-2.

desert, n.
1 (in pl.) a acts or qualities deserving reward or punishment. b such reward or punishment (has got his deserts).
2 the fact of being worthy of reward or punishment; deservingness.

Etymology:
ME f. OF f. deservir DESERVE

VB  abstain, refrain, spare, not attempt, not do, maintain the even tenor of one's way, eschew, keep from, let alone, have nothing to do with, keep aloof keep off, stand aloof, stand off, hold aloof, hold off, take no part in, have no hand in, avoid, shun, steer clear of, keep clear of, fight shy of, keep one's distance, keep at a respectful distance, keep out of the way, get out of the way, evade, elude, turn away from, set one's face against, deny oneself, shrink back, hang back, hold back, draw back, recoil, retire, flinch, blink, blench, shy, shirk, dodge, parry, make way for, give place to, beat a retreat, turn tail, turn one's back, take to one's heels, runaway, run for one's life, cut and run, be off like a shot, fly, flee, fly away, flee away, run away from, take flight, take to flight, desert, elope, make off, scamper off, sneak off, shuffle off, sheer off, break away, tear oneself away, slip away, slink away, steel away, make away from, scamper away from, sneak away from, shuffle away from, sheer away from, slip cable, part company, turn one's heel, sneak out of, play truant, give one the go by, give leg bail, take French leave, slope, decamp, flit, bolt, abscond, levant, skedaddle, absquatulat, cut one's stick, walk one's chalks, show a light pair of heels, make oneself scarce, escape, go away, abandon, reject, lead one a dance, lead one a pretty dance, throw off the scent, play at hide and seek, Adj, unsought, unattempted, avoiding, neutral, shy of, elusive, evasive, fugitive, runaway, shy, wild.

VB  relinquish, give up, abandon, desert, forsake, leave in the lurch, go back on, depart from, secede from, withdraw from, back out of, leave, quit, take leave of, bid a long farewell, vacate, renounce, forego, have done with, drop, disuse, discard, wash one's hands of, drop all idea of, break off, leave off, desist, stop, hold one's hand, stay one's hand, quit one's hold, give over, shut up shop, throw up the game, throw up the cards, give up the point, give up the argument, pass to the order of the day, move to the previous question, relinquish, give up, surrender, yield, cede, let go, let slip, spare, drop, resign, forego, renounce, abandon, expropriate, give away, dispose of, part with, lay aside, lay apart, lay down, lay on the shelf, set aside, put aside, put away, make away with, cast behind, maroon, give notice to quit, give warning, supersede, be rid of, get rid of, be quit of, get quit of, eject, rid oneself of, disburden oneself of, divest oneself of, dispossess oneself of, wash one's hands of, discard, cast off, dismiss, cast away, throw away, pitch away, fling away, cast aside, cast overboard, cast to the dogs, throw aside, throw overboard, throw to the dogs, pitch aside, pitch overboard, pitch to the dogs, fling aside, fling overboard, fling to the dogs, cast to the winds, throw to the winds, sweep to the winds, put away, turn away, sweep away, jettison, reject, quit one's hold, quitclaim.

VB  resign, give up, throw up, lay down, throw up the cards, wash one's hands of, abjure, renounce, forego, disclaim, retract, deny, abrogate, desert, get rid of, abdicate, vacate, vacate one's seat, accept the stewardship of the Chiltern Hundreds, retire, tender one's resignation.

N  unproductiveness, infertility, sterility, infecundity, masturbation, impotence, unprofitableness, waste, desert, Sahara, wild, wilderness, howling wilderness, unproductive, acarpous, inoperative, barren, addled, infertile, unfertile, unprolific, arid, sterile, unfruitful, infecund, sine prole, fallow, teemless, issueless, fruitless, unprofitable, null and void, of no effect.

N  absence, inexistence, nonresidence, absenteeism, nonattendance, alibi, emptiness, void, vacuum, vacuity, vacancy, tabula rasa, exemption, hiatus, lipotype, truant, absentee, nobody, nobody present, nobody on earth, not a soul, ame qui vive, absent, not present, away, nonresident, gone, from home, missing, lost, wanting, omitted, nowhere to be found, inexistence, empty, void, vacant, vacuous, untenanted, unoccupied, uninhabited, tenantless, barren, sterile, desert, deserted, devoid, uninhabitable, without, minus, nowhere, elsewhere, neither here nor there, in default of, sans, behind one's back, the bird has flown, non est inventus, absence makes the heart grow fonder, absent in body but present in spirit, absento nemo ne nocuisse velit, Achilles absent was Achilles still, aux absents les os, briller par son absence, conspicuous by his absence, in the hope to meet shortly again and make our abs.

N  virtue, virtuousness, morality, moral rectitude, integrity, nobleness, morals, ethics, cardinal virtues, merit, worth, desert, excellence, credit, self-control, self-denial, well-doing, good actions, good behavior, discharge of duty, fulfillment of duty, performance of duty, well-spent life, innocence, virtuous, good, innocent, meritorious, deserving, worthy, desertful, correct, dutiful, duteous, moral, right, righteous, right- minded, well-intentioned, creditable, laudable, commendable, praiseworthy, above all praise, beyond all praise, excellent, admirable, sterling, pure, noble, whole-souled, exemplary, matchless, peerless, saintly, saint-like, heaven-born, angelic, seraphic, godlike, virtuously, adj, e merito, esse quam videri bonus malebat, Schonheit vergeht Tugend besteht, virtue the greatest of all monarchies, virtus laudatur et alget, virtus vincit invidiam.

N  plain, table-land, face of the country, open country, champaign country, basin, downs, waste, weary waste, desert, wild, steppe, pampas, savanna, prairie, heath, common, wold, veldt, moor, moorland, bush, plateau, campagna, alkali flat, llano, mesa, mesilla, playa, shaking prairie, trembling prairie, vega, meadow, mead, haugh, pasturage, park, field, lawn, green, plat, plot, grassplat, greensward, sward, turf, sod, heather, lea, ley, lay, grounds, maidan, agostadero, champaign, alluvial, campestral, campestrial, campestrian, campestrine.

N  sweetness, dulcitude, sugar, syrup, treacle, molasses, honey, manna, confection, confectionary, sweets, grocery, conserve, preserve, confiture, jam, julep, sugar-candy, sugar-plum, licorice, marmalade, plum, lollipop, bonbon, jujube, comfit, sweetmeat, apple butter, caramel, damson, glucose, maple sirup, maple syrup, maple sugar, mithai, sorghum, taffy, nectar, hydromel, mead, meade, metheglin, honeysuckle, liqueur, sweet wine, aperitif, sugar cane, sugar beets, desert, pastry, pie, cake, candy, ice cream, tart, puff, pudding (food), dulcification, dulcoration, sweetener, corn syrup, cane sugar, refined sugar, beet sugar, dextrose, artificial sweetener, saccharin, cyclamate, aspartame, Sweet'N Low, sweet, saccharine, sacchariferous, dulcet, candied, honied, luscious, lush, nectarious, melliferous, sweetened, sweet as a nut, sweet as sugar, sweet as honey, sickly sweet, eau sucr_ee, sweets to the sweet.

arabian desert, atacama desert, australian desert, black rock desert, chihuahuan desert, colorado desert, desert boot, desert four o'clock, desert fox, desert holly, desert iguana, desert lynx, desert mariposa tulip, desert olive, desert paintbrush, desert pea, desert plant, desert plume, desert rat, desert rheumatism, desert rose, desert sand verbena, desert selaginella, desert soil, desert sunflower, desert tortoise, desert willow, eastern desert, gibson desert, gila desert, gobi desert, great arabian desert, great australian desert, great indian desert, great salt desert, great sandy desert, great victoria desert, kalahari desert, kavir desert, libyan desert, lut desert, mohave desert, mojave desert, namib desert, negev desert, nubian desert, operation desert storm, painted desert, patagonian desert, sahara desert, simpson desert, sinai desert, sonoran desert, sturt's desert pea, syrian desert, taklamakan desert, taklimakan desert, thar desert, turkestan desert