Meaning & use
arid
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Extremely dry because of very little rain, so that few plants can grow.
Grammar: Used before a noun (arid land) or after a linking verb (the region is arid).
Patterns
- arid land
- arid region
- arid climate
Cactuses grow well in arid climates where it rarely rains.
The arid plains stretched for miles without a single tree.
Farming in such an arid region requires deep wells.
adjectivecomparablefigurative
Lacking interest, life or imagination; dull and boring.
Grammar: Figurative use, usually before a noun: an arid debate.
Patterns
- arid subject
- arid discussion
The lecture was an arid recital of dates and names.
After an arid season of poor writing, the novelist produced something fresh.
Their conversation grew arid once they ran out of shared topics.
Word forms
| comparative | more arid |
|---|---|
| superlative | most arid |
Common combinations
- arid climate
- An arid climate means irrigation is essential for crops.
- arid land
- Farmers turned arid land into green fields with irrigation.
- arid region
- Water is the biggest challenge in an arid region.
- arid zone
- The arid zone covers much of the interior.
- arid soil
- Few crops survive in arid soil.
Synonyms and how they differ
- dry
- Dry is the everyday word and can describe anything without moisture, while arid means a lasting, severe lack of rain in a place.
- parched
- Parched means dried out by heat or thirst, often temporarily, while arid describes a permanent condition.
- barren
- Barren stresses that nothing can grow, while arid stresses lack of water.
- desert
- Desert names a region, while arid is an adjective for the dry condition.
Opposites
Word family
- aridity noun
- The state of being very dry.
- aridness noun
- A less common noun for aridity.
- semi-arid adjective
- Somewhat dry, with a little more rainfall than a desert.
Commonly confused: arid or acrid?
arid vs acrid
Acrid describes a sharp, bitter smell or taste, such as burning plastic, not dryness.
Practice
Little grows in the ______ desert, where it hardly ever rains.
Choose one answer.
Arid means extremely dry, so it fits a desert. Fertile, humid and lush all suggest moisture or growth, which contradict the setting.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “arid”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.