wasteland

American  

[weyst-land] / ˈweɪstˌlænd /

noun

• wastelands
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• wastelands
  plural

Etymology

Origin of wasteland

First recorded in 1630–40; waste + -land

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wasteland wastelands

Half a lifetime ago, I had a crappy copyediting job that meant I had to drive for 90 minutes through traffic across the sprawling concrete wasteland of Phoenix.

From Salon ● Jun. 15, 2026

Those of us who languish in the academic wasteland are too tardy to lament, so little has changed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 9, 2025

Taking the forest road, they swiftly passed from the mountainous wasteland of Endovier and into fairer country.

From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas

Bare-knuckle is the oldest form of boxing but became associated with unlicensed fights on wastelands after The Marquess of Queensberry rules were introduced in 1867, which insisted on gloves.

From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2026

Millions of visitors are going to experience American cities that they’ve been told are unlivable wastelands.

From Salon ● Feb. 10, 2026

In both public perception and official policy, savannas in India and elsewhere have often been labeled "wastelands."

From Science Daily ● Feb. 1, 2026

Multiple generations of Americans have been socialized to believe that a mecca of cheap, dirty pleasures awaits in the wastelands of southern Nevada.

From Slate ● Nov. 18, 2025

Their environments ran the gamut, from sword-and-sorcery settings to cyberpunk-themed planetwide cities to irradiated postapocalyptic zombie-infested wastelands.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

Related Words

• desert
• swamp