wasteland

[weyst-land]

See more synonyms for wasteland on Thesaurus.com

noun

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.

Origin of wasteland

First recorded in 1630–40; waste + -land

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for wasteland

swamp, desert, moor, marsh, badlands

Examples from the Web for wasteland

Contemporary Examples of wasteland

He took a time period that was a wasteland and gave it intelligence, wit, and consistent humor.
The King Abdicates From Late-Night Nation
Tom Shales
April 4, 2014
He might just save his regime, even if he rules little more than a wasteland filled with corpses.
The Coalition of the Unwilling
Christopher Dickey
September 7, 2013
The inaugural addresses of the presidents are, for the most part, a wasteland of howling rhetoric and dried-out inspiration.
Why Inaugural Speeches Fail
David Frum
January 21, 2013
Pompeii is at risk of becoming a wasteland as its ruins disintegrate to dust due to lack of maintenance.
Italy’s Culture Falling to Ruins Amid Austerity Cuts
Barbie Latza Nadeau
September 19, 2012
Despite being a heavily patrolled police state, Iran has long borders that stretch across mountains and wasteland.
Are Israeli Agents Assassinating Iranian Scientists? A New Book Argues
Dan Raviv, Yossi Melman
July 7, 2012

Historical Examples of wasteland

Help was not always available, and there could be no waste movements in a wasteland.
Land of the Burnt Thigh
Edith Eudora Kohl
Our world of Rajj is a wasteland where once we and our fellows lived.
Brood of the Dark Moon
Charles Willard Diffin
Hours later he spotted the caravan in the immensity of sand and wasteland.
Home is Where You Left It
Adam Chase
Nothing, for as far as the eye could see there was only wasteland.
Dave Dawson at Casablanca
Robert Sydney Bowen
The Confederate force was already starting withdrawal, battery by battery, as the wasteland of the fire lighted them on their way.
Ride Proud, Rebel!
Andre Alice Norton

British Dictionary definitions for wasteland

wasteland

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 desolateAmerican television is a cultural wasteland

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for wasteland

1887, from waste (adj.) + land (n.).