Desert, n, stress on the first syllable, means a place without much rain, but it comes from the notion of being deserted so sometimes it just means an unpopulat

Desert, n, stress on the first syllable, means a place without much rain, but it comes from the notion of being deserted so sometimes it just means an unpopulated area. To desert, v, stress on the second syllable, means to leave/abandon something. Desert, n, stress on the second syllable, is what you deserve "he got his just deserts" Dessert, n, stress on the second syllable, is a sweet course of a meal that follows the main course. It has an extra s because of its etymology not its pronunciation. I'm quite sure this mess was designed to be as confusing as possible.