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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
Some Americans, including Lucy’s father Hank, survived by moving into a network of underground bunkers called Vaults, while others were left to fend for themselves in the Wasteland.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 14, 2026
Australian studio Drop Bear Bytes is hoping to scratch that itch with Broken Roads, citing classic role-playing adventures like Fallout, Wasteland and, yes, Baldur’s Gate as inspiration.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 7, 2024
Next, take a 15-minute sweaty aerobic session through the Nocturnal Wasteland looking more and more like an extended scene from “Mad Max: Fury Road.”
From Washington Times • Sep. 19, 2023
Subscribers can look forward to State of Decay 2: Homecoming, the Borderlands 3 themed Making Mayhem update in Sea of Thieves, and Wasteland 3’s Cult of the Holy Detonation.
From The Verge • Aug. 24, 2021
Wasteland Wanderings": "I gathered a number of floating, delicate leaves, and endeavored to secure the entire stem also; but this was too difficult a task for an August afternoon.
From Wild Flowers An Aid to Knowledge of Our Wild Flowers and Their Insect Visitors by Blanchan, Neltje
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.
