arid

American  

[ar-id] / ˈær ɪd /

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:

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

   Antonyms:

   imaginative, spirited, exciting, interesting, lively

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arid British  

/ ˈærɪd, əˈrɪdɪtɪ /

adjective

1. having little or no rain; dry; parched with heat

2. devoid of interest

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arid Scientific  

/ ăr′ĭd /

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

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Related Words

See dry.

Other Word Forms

• aridity noun
• aridly adverb
• aridness noun
• hyperarid adjective

Etymology

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 -id ⁴; cf. ash ¹

Explanation

Arid is so dry that nothing will grow. Death Valley in California features an arid climate, which is why it's called Death Valley and not Life Valley. Arid can also mean terribly dull or lifeless. A textbook about the climate of Death Valley might be called arid if it's written in an uninteresting way. Just like you wouldn't want to live in an arid climate, you wouldn't want to sit through an arid performance of the film-turned-musical, "Some Like it Hot."

Example Sentences

"Prog is simply great music released from the arid strictures of cool and from the sneers of gatekeepers".

From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026

The Middle East’s abundant desalination plants, which remove salt from the Persian Gulf’s seawater, are the key source of drinking water for millions of residents in the arid region.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 8, 2026

This suggests that other arid regions around the world may harbor more biodiversity than previously recognized.

From Science Daily • Mar. 2, 2026

For nearly a year, repeated misdiagnoses of the deadly kala-azar disease left 60-year-old Harada Hussein Abdirahman's health deteriorating, as an outbreak in Kenya's arid regions claimed a record number of lives.

From Barron's • Feb. 8, 2026

“We’re Lithuanian,” said Mother, first speaking in Lithuanian arid then in Russian.

From "Between Shades of Gray" by Ruta Sepetys

Related Words

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