wasteland

noun

waste·​land ˈwāst-ˌland How to pronounce wasteland (audio)
 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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Where homes, buildings and fields once stood in the southern city of Rafah, there were now craters and barren wastelands. Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2025 New satellite imagery lays bare the sheer scale of the destruction in the Gaza Strip with two years of Israeli bombardment having turned much of the landscape into a wasteland. Freddie Clayton, NBC news, 7 Oct. 2025 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 See All Example Sentences for wasteland

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of wasteland was in the 14th century

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Cite this Entry

“Wasteland.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wasteland. Accessed 13 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

wasteland

noun
waste·​land ˈwāst-ˌland How to pronounce wasteland (audio)
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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