wasteland
noun
waste·land
ˈwāst-ˌland 
also -lənd
1
: barren or uncultivated land
a desert wasteland
2
: an ugly often devastated or barely inhabitable place or area
3
: something (such as a way of life) that is spiritually and emotionally arid and unsatisfying
Examples of wasteland in a Sentence
The outskirts of the city became a grim industrial wasteland.
That part of the country is a cultural wasteland.
the vast wasteland of television
Recent Examples on the Web
Mad Max is set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland that is at once striking and surreal.
—
Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 3 Sep. 2025
Drafting and trades have been consistently solid, but free agency has been a wasteland of negative value.
—Dom Luszczyszyn, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
With his brow perennially furrowed and hair slicked with sweat, Riley has the exact look and bearing of a suavely addled wrong-man figure from British thrillers of yore — and thus makes a suitably bemused proxy for the viewers in this wasteland of mounting chaos and absurdity.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 19 Aug. 2025
In a week, nearly 1,000 students will be walking through the doors of Roxbury Prep, a new charter school that looks to be a catalyst for change in a neighborhood marred by the Mass and Cass opioid-addled wasteland.
—Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 19 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wasteland
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Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 3 Sep. 2025
Drafting and trades have been consistently solid, but free agency has been a wasteland of negative value.
—Dom Luszczyszyn, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
With his brow perennially furrowed and hair slicked with sweat, Riley has the exact look and bearing of a suavely addled wrong-man figure from British thrillers of yore — and thus makes a suitably bemused proxy for the viewers in this wasteland of mounting chaos and absurdity.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 19 Aug. 2025
In a week, nearly 1,000 students will be walking through the doors of Roxbury Prep, a new charter school that looks to be a catalyst for change in a neighborhood marred by the Mass and Cass opioid-addled wasteland.
—Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 19 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wasteland
Cite this Entry
“Wasteland.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wasteland. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
wasteland
noun
waste·land
ˈwāst-ˌland
1
: land that is not cultivated or not fit for the cultivation of crops
2
: an ugly often ruined place or area
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