wasteland
Americannoun
-
land that is uncultivated or barren.
-
an area that is devastated, as by flood, storm, or war.
-
something, as a period of history, phase of existence, or locality, that is spiritually or intellectually barren.
noun
-
a barren or desolate area of land, not or no longer used for cultivation or building
-
a region, period in history, etc, that is considered spiritually, intellectually, or aesthetically barren or desolate
American television is a cultural wasteland
Etymology
Origin of wasteland
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.
It was a wasteland of corporate buzzwords, 4 a.m. wake-up routines and stories about overcoming workplace adversity with a little something called grit.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 7, 2026
McCarthy, addressing ProPublica on Substack, wrote: “You point to various online guides that offer what could be considered dangerous dosing instructions. We agree, the internet is a terrifying wasteland of misinformation and disinformation.”
From Salon • Dec. 15, 2025
They’ve been doing covert “crawls” with the goal of locating and destroying Vecna before he turns the town, then the world, into an oozy wasteland.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 26, 2025
Since then, Basra War Cemetery has become a deserted wasteland, used by the locals for football or to dispose of rubbish.
From BBC • Nov. 8, 2025
They picked their way across the ashen wasteland as red lightning flashed overhead in the poisonous clouds.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
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.
