dead calm vs desolate

dead calm

adj
  • Completely still with no waves and no wind. 

noun
  • The condition of a perfectly flat sea with no waves and no wind. 

desolate

adj
  • Deserted and devoid of inhabitants. 

  • Made unfit for habitation or use because of neglect, destruction etc. 

  • Barren and lifeless. 

  • Dismal or dreary. 

  • Sad, forlorn and hopeless. 

verb
  • To devastate or lay waste somewhere. 

  • To abandon or forsake something. 

  • To deprive of inhabitants. 

  • To make someone sad, forlorn and hopeless. 

How often have the words dead calm and desolate occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )