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 • Jan. 7, 2026

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

When you scan their rural town, a wasteland of Dollar General stores and fast food chains, most of their neighbors seem to have already faded away.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 23, 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

This strange place was a nightmare, a wasteland of rubble covered with brown slime.

From "I Survived the Great Molasses Flood, 1919" by Lauren Tarshis

Related Words

• desert
• swamp