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

Around another corner is Hagar in the Wilderness (1875), still inhabiting the wasteland around her after being scorned by Abraham. —Tyehimba Jess, ARTnews.com, 17 Apr. 2026

Interstellar stars Matthew McConaughey as Coop, a NASA pilot who tries to find habitable planets as Earth becomes a wasteland. —Victoria Edel, PEOPLE, 10 Apr. 2026

Haggerty noted what the Artemis crew saw on the moon’s surface, including steep canyon walls and barren wasteland. —Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2026

Jungle The tropical world is full of jungles, but the word jungle itself is from Sanskrit, jaṅgala (through Hindi jaṅgal), meaning a desert or wasteland area. —Encyclopedia Britannica, 31 Mar. 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