Meaning & use

arid

adjective·Academic

Extremely dry, especially describing land or climate that receives little rain and supports little vegetation.

See it in a sentence

Cactus and other hardy plants thrive in the arid landscape of the desert.

Years of drought have left the once-fertile valley arid and cracked.

A note on using this word

Arid can also describe something figuratively dull or lifeless, such as an arid lecture that fails to hold anyone's interest.

Words with a similar meaning

dryparched

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

Another way to use it

2. adjective

Lacking interest, imagination, or liveliness.

The meeting turned into an arid discussion of budget line items.

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