wasteland

[ weyst-land ]

noun

1. land that is uncultivated or barren.
2. an area that is devastated, as by flood, storm, or war.
3. something, as a period of history, phase of existence, or locality, that is spiritually or intellectually barren.

wasteland

/ ˈweɪstˌlænd /

noun

1. a barren or desolate area of land, not or no longer used for cultivation or building
2. a region, period in history, etc, that is considered spiritually, intellectually, or aesthetically barren or desolate

   American television is a cultural wasteland

Word History and Origins

Origin of wasteland¹

First recorded in 1630–40; waste + -land

Example Sentences

People tend to think of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone as a nuclear wasteland.

From Popular-Science

Fundraising appeals have become a wasteland of laughable claims and empty threats that donors might not realize are so bogus or empty.

From Washington Post

That difference is important for understanding why one rocky planet may be lush and wet and habitable, while another is an arid wasteland.

From Science News

In addition, a biohybrid nose could also venture into contaminated wastelands to screen for toxic chemicals without harming a living being.

From Singularity Hub 

We will wake up one day in a wasteland, surrounded by the crumbling bones of those who loved us and waited for us to love them back.

From Washington Post

Without it in the atmosphere, the Earth would be a barren, frozen wasteland.

From The Daily Beast

He took a time period that was a wasteland and gave it intelligence, wit, and consistent humor.

From The Daily Beast

You question every decision—personal, professional, spiritual—that has led you to this snowy wasteland.

From The Daily Beast

The palm trees have gone, leaving a desolate wasteland of stumps reaching into the sky.

From The Daily Beast

He might just save his regime, even if he rules little more than a wasteland filled with corpses.

From The Daily Beast

Our whole Northern Hemisphere, where our greatest nations were, was devastated; much of it is wasteland to this day.

From Project Gutenberg

Out of the cramped ships they came, to bound in freedom and fresh breathable air across the wasteland.

From Project Gutenberg

It became the fashion to forsake the school field for the more adventurous wasteland of the neighbourhood.

From Project Gutenberg

The Magellan lifted back into the sky, then moved out over the ocher wasteland that was the barren desert of the red planet.

From Project Gutenberg

He chased them through the burning solitudes of that vast Northern wasteland like a veritable bloodhound.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• desert
• swamp