arid

adjective

ar·​id ˈa-rəd 

ˈer-əd

1

: excessively dry

specifically : having insufficient rainfall to support agriculture

an arid region

2

: lacking in interest and life : jejune

arid textbooks

aridity

ə-ˈri-də-tē 

a-

noun

aridness

ˈa-rəd-nəs 

ˈer-əd-

noun

Synonyms

• boring
• colorless
• drab
• dreary
• drudging
• dry
• dull
• dusty
• flat
• heavy
• ho-hum
• humdrum
• jading
• jejune
• leaden
• mind-numbing
• monochromatic
• monotonous
• numbing
• old
• pedestrian
• ponderous
• slow
• stale
• stodgy
• stuffy
• stupid
• tame
• tedious
• tiresome
• tiring
• uninteresting
• wearisome
• weary
• wearying

Examples of arid in a Sentence

a dull and arid textbook

an arid speech about duty and responsibility

Recent Examples on the Web

Dubai even shares the similarly arid climate of Las Vegas which explains why much of its entertainment is indoors. —Caroline Reid, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024

Created in 1963 by constructing the Glen Canyon Dam, Lake Powell was intended to be a critical water storage reservoir for the arid western United States. —Tom Howarth follow, Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2024

Trowbridge is so concerned that he’s posted officers at both of her residences (something Dennison describes with arid indignation as a spectacular misuse of public monies). —Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2024

This upcoming men’s World Cup will be the first to span three separate countries—the United States, Canada and Mexico—requiring an array of turfs that will work in both cool, arid environments as well as hot, tropical ones. —Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 30 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French & Latin; French aride, going back to Middle French, borrowed from Latin āridus, ārdus "dry, waterless, withered, austere (of style)," derivative, with the adjective suffix -idus, of ārēre "to be dry, parched, withered," going back to Indo-European *h₂eh₁s-eh₁-, stative derivative of a verbal base *h₂eh₁s- "make dry with heat," whence also Tocharian A asatär "(it) dries up," Tocharian B osotär; also from the same base a root noun *h₂eh₁s-, whence Hittite ḫāšš- "ashes, dust," from which as thematic derivatives Sanskrit ā́saḥ "ashes, dust," and (as a collective or noun of appurtenance?) *h₂eh₁s-eh₂-, whence Latin āra "altar," Oscan aasaí (locative), Hittite ḫāššā- "hearth," Old High German essa, esse "forge" (from *asjō-), Old Swedish æsia, æssia "smith's fire," Old Icelandic esja "soapstone (used in hearths)" (both from *asjōn-)

Note: Regarding the apparent derivatives ardēre "to burn, emit light or flame" and ardor "burning, fierce heat," see ardent. — Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben gives the "essive" (= stative) form of the verbal base *h₂eh₁s as *h₂h₁s-h₁i̯é- and attributes the length in Latin ārēre to the influence of noun derivatives such as āra. D. Adams, however, regards the original base in Tocharian A and B to have been *ās-, corresponding to the length in the Latin verb (see A Dictionary of Tocharian B, Revised and Greatly Enlarged, Rodopi, 2013, p. 63). A. Kloekhorst (Etymological Dictionary of the Hittite Inherited Lexicon, Brill, 2008, pp. 322-23) regards the short vowel in Germanic as the residue of an oblique case form *h₁h₂s- of the root noun. See also ash entry 2, azalea.

First Known Use

1652, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing arid

• hyper-arid

Kids Definition

arid

adjective

ar·​id ˈar-əd 

: very dry

especially : not having enough rainfall to support agriculture

aridity

ə-ˈrid-ət-ē 

a-

noun