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

Synonyms of wasteland

• desert
• barren

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

That year, the United Kingdom tipped into recession, and Marylebone High Street became a retail wasteland. — Nathan Heller, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026

This earlier Russell work did not include acid queens, pinball wizards, or teenage-wasteland messiahs. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 18 Oct. 2026

In their place is a world reduced to a wasteland by an environmental cataclysm, supposedly caused by Korra herself. — Alison Herman, Variety, 9 Oct. 2026

The toxic wasteland of Sentinel 1 reduces your vehicle's durability and can stop your Ramjet from working in acid pools. — Hayes Madsen, Space.com, 2 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for wasteland

• ampersand
• beforehand
• behindhand
• bottomland
• contraband
• countermand
• dixieland
• fairyland
• fatherland
• firebrand
• hinterland
• motherland

Kids 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