wasteland

American  

[weyst-land] / ˈweɪstˌlænd /

noun

1. land that is uncultivated or barren.

2. an area that is devastated, as by flood, storm, or war.

3. something, as a period of history, phase of existence, or locality, that is spiritually or intellectually barren.

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wasteland British  

/ ˈweɪstˌlænd /

noun

1. a barren or desolate area of land, not or no longer used for cultivation or building

2. a region, period in history, etc, that is considered spiritually, intellectually, or aesthetically barren or desolate

   American television is a cultural wasteland

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Etymology

Origin of wasteland

First recorded in 1630–40; waste + -land

Example Sentences

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

It will be managed by the WHO which deals with all evacuation requests from a place the UN calls "a wasteland".

From BBC

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

It was no longer the fire-stricken wasteland he saw in the videos, but in fact quite green.

From Los Angeles Times

The hit TV show is an adaptation of the popular role-playing game of the same name, set 200 years after a nuclear war leaves the Earth a wasteland.

From BBC

Related Words

• desert
• swamp