desert

IPA: dˈɛzɝt

(usually in the plural) That which is deserved or merited; a just punishment or reward.
A barren area of land or desolate terrain, especially one with little water or vegetation; a wasteland.
(informal) In particular, a barren, arid area of land which is hot, with sandy, rocky, or parched ground.
(figuratively) Any barren place or situation.
Obsolete form of dessert. [The last course of a meal, consisting of fruit, sweet confections etc.]

To leave (anything that depends on one's presence to survive, exist, or succeed), especially when contrary to a promise or obligation; to abandon; to forsake.
To leave one's duty or post, especially to leave a military or naval unit without permission.

Examples of "desert" in Sentences

The term desert is far more true because wasteland is abhorrently incorrect.
That's not to say I'm perfect – I've acquired the nickname 'desert cactus' because I hardly drink during training, which is something I need to work on.
It is true that in almost every desert there are these sandy plains, yet are there other parts of its surface of a far different character, equally deserving the name of _desert_.
My idea of a desert is an eternal agony, plotted by the fury of the aridity, by the implacable confusion of a sun which, trampled by the wind, melts with the sand, until there is no other landscape than the sand dominating the sky, the ground, the wind.