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definitions

arid

[ar-id]
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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.

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RELATED WORDS

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

Nearby words

  1. arias sánchez, oscar,
  2. arias-stella phenomenon,
  3. arias-stella reaction,
  4. ariboflavinosis,
  5. arica,
  6. arid zone,
  7. aridification,
  8. aridisol,
  9. aridity,
  10. aridity index

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

Examples from the Web for arid

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

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Science 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.