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
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
The current target is filling the sports wasteland between the World Series and NFL playoffs.
—
Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Nov. 2025
In Dark Matter, a parallel-universe version of Chicago as a desolate wasteland is more obviously counterfactual—and thus less uncanny—than a parallel universe in which the main character’s wife had not given up her career as an artist to have children.
—Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 26 Nov. 2025
In the series created by Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet, Moten plays Maximus, a member of the militaristic techno-religious order known as the Brotherhood of Steel, which navigates a post-nuclear wasteland with the mission of collecting, preserving, and controlling advanced technology.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 20 Nov. 2025
The monochromatic tones are occasionally broken by a scrap of visual ephemera blowing through the wasteland.
—Literary Hub, 17 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wasteland
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Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Nov. 2025
In Dark Matter, a parallel-universe version of Chicago as a desolate wasteland is more obviously counterfactual—and thus less uncanny—than a parallel universe in which the main character’s wife had not given up her career as an artist to have children.
—Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 26 Nov. 2025
In the series created by Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet, Moten plays Maximus, a member of the militaristic techno-religious order known as the Brotherhood of Steel, which navigates a post-nuclear wasteland with the mission of collecting, preserving, and controlling advanced technology.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 20 Nov. 2025
The monochromatic tones are occasionally broken by a scrap of visual ephemera blowing through the wasteland.
—Literary Hub, 17 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wasteland
Cite this Entry
“Wasteland.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wasteland. Accessed 1 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
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