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

• 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

And then people in the wasteland, the Raiders, are exactly like that. —Jennifer Maas, Variety, 1 Oct. 2025

Oil was discovered there in the 1920s, and the county went through booms and busts for decades, enriching wildcatters and devastating the landscape, until a lasting bust left Loving County a virtual wasteland with no running water, paved roads, schools, hospitals, or grocery stores. —Mitch Moxley, Rolling Stone, 27 Sep. 2025

After struggling with life inside a Greenland bunker, the anxious Garrity family decides to leave that safety and navigate a shattered and radioactive wasteland of Europe to find a new home. —Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 25 Sep. 2025

This quiz invites you to explore the darker corners of sci-fi literature, where monsters lurk not just in shadows, but in laboratories, alien worlds and post-apocalyptic wastelands. —Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 16 Sep. 2025

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