arid

[ ar-id ]

adjective

1. being without moisture; extremely dry; parched:

   arid land;

   an arid climate.

2. barren or unproductive because of lack of moisture:

   arid farmland.

3. lacking interest or imaginativeness; sterile:

   an arid treatment of an exciting topic.

   Synonyms: uninspiring, dreary, pedantic, jejune, uninspired, vapid, tedious, dull

   Antonyms: imaginative, spirited, exciting, interesting, lively

arid

/ ˈærɪd; əˈrɪdɪtɪ /

adjective

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

arid

/ ăr′ĭd /

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

Derived Forms

• aridity, noun
• ˈaridly, adverb

Other Words From

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of arid¹

First recorded in 1645–55; from French or directly from Latin āridus, equivalent to ār(ēre) “to be dry” + -idus adjective suffix; -id ⁴; ash ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of arid¹

C17: from Latin āridus, from ārēre to be dry

Synonym Study

See dry.

Example Sentences

Some scientists have argued that the dark veins aren’t made of water at all and are really just arid landslides, but neither camp has produced a satisfactory explanation.

From Popular-Science

All that good organic gunk could get recycled back onto farms to help plants grow and soils retain water in arid San Diego County, which has more small farms than any county in the United States.

From Voice of San Diego

Welcome to the arid wasteland that has been the Washington Football Team’s 21st century postseason history.

From Washington Post

We’re an arid region prone to high-whipping and hot Santa Ana winds every winter, which often lead to power shutoffs by SDG&E as a wildfire prevention measure.

From Voice of San Diego

Relative amounts of different carbon and nitrogen isotopes depend on whether an elephant spent most of its time in, say, a rainforest or an arid grassland.

From Science News

Some parts were arid, nearly barren, others green and fertile.

From The Daily Beast

His papers are voluminous but arid, nothing of the man comes through.

From The Daily Beast

Anguilla is an arid, flat Caribbean island surrounded on all sides by seawater.

From The Daily Beast

The Republican gathering in Tampa was like a business meeting—for the most part, emotionally and rhetorically arid.

From The Daily Beast

Media people, always on perpetual deadline, can adapt even to the most arid surroundings.

From The Daily Beast

Death, to do him justice, he had met with none of the cowardice he had vaunted, and consistently with his arid cynical soul.

From Project Gutenberg

The broad river was left behind; they set their course toward the arid mountains of Libya.

From Project Gutenberg

“Guayule” is a resinous rubber secured from a two-foot shrub that grows on the arid plains of Texas and Northern Mexico.

From Project Gutenberg

The interior plateau may be described as arid, so that irrigation is required if crops are to be raised.

From Project Gutenberg

A great part of this region is an arid and frightful desert; but the more favored portions are extremely fertile.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• barren
• bone-dry
• desert
• dusty
• parched