desert vs struggle

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. 

struggle

verb
  • To strive, to labour in difficulty, to fight (for or against), to contend. 

  • To strive, or to make efforts, with a twisting, or with contortions of the body. 

noun
  • A contortion of the body in an attempt to escape or to perform a difficult task. 

  • Strife, contention, great effort. 

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