aridity
Americannoun
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the state or quality of being extremely dry.
Many plant and animal adaptations to withstand the intense aridity of the desert are quite bizarre.
-
the quality of lacking interest, liveliness, or imaginativeness; sterility.
His writing style is excellent, avoiding the technical aridity of most professional science publications.
Etymology
Origin of aridity
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin āriditāt-, stem of āriditās, equivalent to ārid(us) “dry” ( see arid ( def. )) + -itās -ity ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But it isn’t just the heat—it’s the aridity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 2026
Dating to between 12,800 and 11,400 years ago, the engravings correspond to a time when temporary lakes and rivers reappeared after centuries of extreme aridity.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2025
The desert's extreme aridity makes it one of the clearest places on Earth to view the night sky and is famous for being home to the largest radio telescope in the world.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2025
But many leading producers face higher temperatures, greater aridity, and other challenges to raising a crop that requires very specific conditions to thrive.
From Salon ● Jan. 30, 2025
The mind is beset by light and space, the kinesthetic novelty of aridity, high temperature, and wind.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
