arid

[ar-id]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR arid ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

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

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

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

Origin of arid

1645–55; (< F) < Latin āridus, equivalent to ār(ēre) to be dry + -idus -id⁴; cf. ash¹

Related formsa·rid·i·ty

[uh-rid-i-tee] /əˈrɪd ɪ ti/, ar·id·ness, nounar·id·ly, adverbhy·per·ar·id, adjective

Synonym study

1. See dry.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for arid

barren, dusty, parched, desert, bone-dry, dry, flat, dreary, lifeless, thirsty, waterless, boring, colorless, drab, dull, insipid, lackluster, tedious, uninspired, vapid

Examples from the Web for arid

Contemporary Examples of arid

Some parts were arid, nearly barren, others green and fertile.
‘The Harness Maker’s Dream:’ The Unlikely Ranch King of Texas
Nick Kotz
September 20, 2014
His papers are voluminous but arid, nothing of the man comes through.
When New York City Hit Its Stride
Allen Barra
July 17, 2014
Anguilla is an arid, flat Caribbean island surrounded on all sides by seawater.
Sun+Water= High Tech Caribbean Luxury At The Cusinart Resort
The Daily Beast
June 11, 2014
Media people, always on perpetual deadline, can adapt even to the most arid surroundings.
Tropical Storm Isaac Sidelines Media Elite at the Republican Convention
Lauren Ashburn
August 28, 2012
Without it, the seeds of change and innovation will wither in a soil that is an arid mix of negativism and defeatism.
America's Real Problem: We Failed the Middle Class
Arianna Huffington
September 11, 2010

Historical Examples of arid

Though the desert were arid on this side, it was her desert, and there in her tent must she abide.
Tiverton Tales
Alice Brown
He was accustomed to far higher temperatures on the arid planet that was his home.
Slaves of Mercury
Nat Schachner
One could not fancy a drop of moisture upon that arid surface.
The Captain of the Pole-Star and Other Tales
Arthur Conan Doyle
Not a word or even a mutter assisted this short and arid handshake.
Under Western Eyes
Joseph Conrad
In the syllogistic system he found only subtlety and arid ingenuity.
Erasmus and the Age of Reformation
Johan Huizinga

British Dictionary definitions for arid

arid

adjective

having little or no rain; dry; parched with heat

devoid of interest

Derived Formsaridity (əˈrɪdɪtɪ) or aridness, nounaridly, adverb

Word Origin for arid

C17: from Latin āridus, from ārēre to be dry

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

Word Origin and History for arid

adj.

1650s, "dry, parched," from French aride (15c.) or directly from Latin aridus "dry, arid, parched," from arere "to be dry," from PIE root *as- "to burn, glow" (see ash (n.1)). Figurative sense of "uninteresting" is from 1827. Related: Aridly.

arid in Science

arid

[ăr′ĭd]

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