badlands
Americanplural noun
plural noun
Etymology
Origin of badlands
An Americanism dating back to 1850–55; bad 1 + land + -s 3; translation of French mauvaises terres, alluding to the difficulty in traversing such country
Explanation
Badlands are a type of dry land where very few plants grow. Badlands can be found in South Dakota and Montana, among other places. The terrain known as badlands are often starkly beautiful, barren of vegetation but marked by layers of clay soil and patterned by the erosion of the wind. There are badlands in several different countries, including Canada, Mexico, and New Zealand, but some of the best known are in Badlands National Park in South Dakota. The word badlands is a direct translation of the French term mauvaises terres.
Vocabulary lists containing badlands
Physical Geography - Middle School
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The United States
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Physical Geography - High School
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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.
Today, the Ledi Geraru area is a rugged landscape of faulted badlands.
From Science Daily • May 16, 2026
It’s also Robby’s final day of work before embarking on a three-month motorcycle road trip set to take him from Pittsburgh to the Canadian badlands.
From Salon • Jan. 8, 2026
Here in Medora, a tiny town in the badlands of western North Dakota, Teddy Roosevelt is everywhere.
From New York Times • Oct. 27, 2023
California’s state park system offers 3,000 miles of trail and terrain from beaches to badlands, Joshua trees and more.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 14, 2023
I roll out of the badlands, past scrub cedar trees and a boarded-up church.
From "Wintergirls" by Laurie Halse Anderson
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.
