cast away vs desert

cast away

verb
  • To abandon or maroon. 

  • To discard. 

  • To eliminate by means of a cast operation. 

desert

verb
  • 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. 

noun
  • 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. 

  • Any barren place or situation. 

adj
  • Usually of a place: abandoned, deserted, or uninhabited. 

How often have the words cast away and desert occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )