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
• dusty
• tiring
• slow
• weary
• dull
• wearying
• stupid
• dry
• old
• heavy

Examples of arid in a Sentence

a dull and arid textbook

an arid speech about duty and responsibility

Recent Examples on the Web

But over the centuries, smaller groups of elephants have ventured into and learned to survive in the more arid plains in the western Kunene region. —Tereza Pultarova, Space.com, 1 Aug. 2025

Unlike agave, which is cultivated and harvested in painstaking cycles, plants of the genus Dasylirion (the plant sotol is made from) grow wild in the arid regions of West Texas. —Andy Vasoyan, Forbes.com, 31 July 2025

In the wild, tarantulas are most commonly spotted in open, dry areas such as: Grasslands Desert scrub Prairies Open fields Roadsides and trails at dusk In Texas, sightings are especially common in the South and West, where arid conditions and open terrain make ideal habitat. —Brandi D. Addison, Austin American Statesman, 31 July 2025

Water is inherently short in supply in this arid nation. —Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 31 July 2025

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

Rhymes for arid

• farad
• semiarid

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