Meaning & use
semiarid
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivenot comparable
Receiving slightly more rain than a desert but still too little for most crops without irrigation.
Grammar: Used mainly before a noun like climate, region, or grassland; it is not usually compared.
Patterns
- semiarid climate
- semiarid region
- semiarid grassland
The semiarid climate of the high plains makes dryland farming risky.
Ranchers in semiarid regions often rely on wells and windmills.
Botanists study how grasses survive in semiarid grasslands.
adjectivenot comparable
Having rainfall between that of a true desert and a humid climate.
Grammar: Often used with measurements: a semiarid area may get 10–20 inches of rain a year.
Patterns
- semiarid area
- semiarid zone
The map shades semiarid zones in pale orange.
A semiarid area can support grazing but not thirsty crops like rice.
Common combinations
- semiarid climate
- The semiarid climate supports only hardy shrubs and grasses.
- semiarid region
- Water is scarce in this semiarid region.
- semiarid grassland
- Semiarid grasslands cover much of the interior.
- semiarid conditions
- Farmers adapted their methods to semiarid conditions.
Synonyms and how they differ
- semi-desert
- Semi-desert is a noun or adjective for a place that is almost a desert; semiarid describes the climate itself and is more technical.
- dry
- Dry is a general word for little rain; semiarid is a precise term that places the climate between desert and humid.
Opposites
Word family
- arid adjective
- Extremely dry, like a desert.
- semiaridity noun
- The condition of being semiarid.
Commonly confused: semiarid or arid? semiarid or semi-arid?
semiarid vs arid
Arid means very dry, like a desert; semiarid means slightly wetter than a desert but still dry.
semiarid vs semi-arid
The hyphenated form semi-arid is a common British variant; American English usually writes semiarid.
Practice
Which sentence uses semiarid correctly?
Choose one answer.
Semiarid describes a climate with slightly more rain than a desert but still too little for most crops, so 'region' fits. The rainforest option is too wet; oceans and glaciers are not climates.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “semiarid”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.