aridity

[ uh-rid-i-tee ]

noun

1. the state or quality of being extremely dry:

   Many plant and animal adaptations to withstand the intense aridity of the desert are quite bizarre.

2. the quality of lacking interest, liveliness, or imaginativeness; sterility:

   His writing style is excellent, avoiding the technical aridity of most professional science publications.

Word History and Origins

Origin of aridity¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin āriditāt-, stem of āriditās, equivalent to ārid(us) “dry” ( arid ( def ) ) + -itās -ity ( def )

Example Sentences

The Early Jurassic was dominated by seed ferns, cycads and gingkoes, but by the Middle Jurassic, conifers began to flourish in the more arid, warmer climate.

From Science News

The high desert’s influence on Si-Qin can be seen in the show’s five large CGI renders of an idealized arid landscape.

From Washington Post

Technically, they are called “haboobs,” a term that originated in the Middle East, where the events are more common, but they can occur in any arid landscape.

From Outside Online

Meanwhile, a smaller portion of already-arid land grew drier as temperatures increased the most during the day.

From Popular-Science

Afterward, climate conditions rapidly changed from rainy to arid, which, coupled with the increased plant growth during the period, provided a warm, oxygen-rich environment ideal for dinosaurs to flourish.

From Popular-Science

A second climatic change, perhaps even more important than the lowering temperature, was the increase of aridity.

From Project Gutenberg

At Anau there are signs that the desertion was due primarily to aridity or to disturbances accompanying such a change.

From Project Gutenberg

The neighbouring zone of Kaffraria consists of great far-spreading, gently-undulating plains, characterized by extreme aridity.

From Project Gutenberg

It is designed to show the air of aridity which the mere coast line presents.

From Project Gutenberg

From the crowding vegetation of a tropical marsh to the most absolute aridity was but a step.

From Project Gutenberg

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