arid

- 4 dictionary results

ar⋅id

[ar-id]

–adjective

1.	being without moisture; extremely dry; parched: arid land; an arid climate.

2.	barren or unproductive because of lack of moisture: arid farmland.

3.	lacking interest or imaginativeness; sterile; jejune: an arid treatment of an exciting topic.

Origin:
1645–55; (< F) < L āridus, equiv. to ār(ēre) to be dry + -idus -id ⁴ ; cf. ash ¹

Related forms:

a⋅rid⋅i⋅ty [uh-rid-i-tee]

, ar⋅id⋅ness, noun

ar⋅id⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1. See dry. 3. tedious, dreary, vapid, uninspired, uninspiring.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To arid

ar·id (ār'ĭd)

adj.

Lacking moisture, especially having insufficient rainfall to support trees or woody plants: an arid climate.
Lacking interest or feeling; lifeless and dull: a technically perfect but arid musical performance.

[Latin āridus, from ārēre, to be dry; see as- in Indo-European roots.]
a·rid'i·ty (ə-rĭd'ĭ-tē), ar'id·ness n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Word Origin & History

arid

1652, "dry, parched," from L. aridus, from arere "to be dry," from PIE base *as- "to burn, glow" (see ardent). Figurative sense of "uninteresting" is from 1827.

Science Dictionary

arid (ār'ĭd) Pronunciation Key
Very dry, especially having less precipitation than is needed to support most trees or woody plants. Deserts have arid climates.

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