wasteland
Americannoun
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land that is uncultivated or barren.
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an area that is devastated, as by flood, storm, or war.
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something, as a period of history, phase of existence, or locality, that is spiritually or intellectually barren.
noun
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a barren or desolate area of land, not or no longer used for cultivation or building
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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
Explanation
A wasteland is someplace that's empty and desolate, with no sign of life or growth. An area may be a wasteland because of toxic materials in the soil, or due to climate conditions like strong winds. You can't grow anything in a wasteland, despite all that open space — typically, the soil doesn't have enough nutrients for plants to survive. Sometimes a barren area with limited biodiversity is called a wasteland, though a few species do grow there. A neglected urban area, like an empty lot or a playground that's unused and in disrepair, might also be called a wasteland. T.S. Eliot's most famous poem, "The Waste Land," alludes to a wasteland from Arthurian legend.
Vocabulary lists containing wasteland
"Handle with Care"
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Novel Study: Flesh & Blood So Cheap, Prelude–Chapter III
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The House of Hades
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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.
Roco is “Hell Grind’s” protagonist, who journeys through a dystopian wasteland to save his fellow thief and love interest Lulu.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026
It will be managed by the WHO which deals with all evacuation requests from a place the UN calls "a wasteland".
From BBC • Dec. 22, 2025
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
Just five years ago, midtown Manhattan was a wasteland as the pandemic dominated life in a city that had seen some of the darkest times of Covid-19 only months earlier.
From Barron's • Oct. 21, 2025
In the sandy wasteland around him were the graves of the city’s poor, each with an earthen jug or plate beside it holding the sun-dried remnants of a funerary offering.
From "The Golden Goblet" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
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.
