arid

[ ar-id ]
/ ˈær ɪd /
SEE 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: an arid treatment of an exciting topic.

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Origin of arid

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 FROM arid

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

Words nearby arid

Arias-Stella phenomenon, Arias-Stella reaction, ariboflavinosis, Arica, Aricept, arid, aridification, aridisol, aridity index, arid zone, Ariège
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to arid

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

Example sentences from the Web for arid

British Dictionary definitions for arid

arid
/ (ˈærɪd) /

adjective

having little or no rain; dry; parched with heat
devoid of interest

Derived forms of arid

aridity (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

Scientific definitions for arid

arid
[ ăr′ĭd ]

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.