arid

[ ar-id ]
See synonyms for: aridaridityaridness on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. being without moisture; extremely dry; parched: arid land;an arid climate.

  2. barren or unproductive because of lack of moisture: arid farmland.

  1. lacking interest or imaginativeness; sterile: an arid treatment of an exciting topic.

Origin of arid

1
First recorded in 1645–55; from French or directly from Latin āridus, equivalent to ār(ēre) “to be dry” + -idus adjective suffix; see -id4; cf. ash1

synonym study For arid

1. See dry.

Other words for arid

Opposites for arid

Other words from arid

  • a·rid·i·ty [uh-rid-i-tee], /əˈrɪd ɪ ti/, ar·id·ness, noun
  • ar·id·ly, adverb
  • hy·per·ar·id, adjective

Words Nearby arid

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use arid in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for arid

arid

/ (ˈærɪd) /


adjective
  1. having little or no rain; dry; parched with heat

  2. devoid of interest

Origin of arid

1
C17: from Latin āridus, from ārēre to be dry

Derived forms of arid

  • aridity (əˈrɪdɪtɪ) or aridness, noun
  • aridly, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for arid

arid

[ ărĭd ]


  1. Very dry, especially having less precipitation than is needed to support most trees or woody plants. Deserts have arid climates.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.