arid

adjective

ar·​id ˈa-rəd How to pronounce arid (audio)
ˈer-əd
1
: excessively dry
specifically : having insufficient rainfall to support agriculture
an arid region
2
: lacking in interest and life : jejune
arid textbooks
aridity noun
aridness
ˈa-rəd-nəs How to pronounce arid (audio)
ˈer-əd-
noun

Examples of arid in a Sentence

a dull and arid textbook an arid speech about duty and responsibility
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.
Set aside for a moment the basic fact that the moist climate in Finland (and Austria, which Trump also touted as fire-free) is far different from arid Southern California, and that conifers suck up water while chaparral and coastal scrub is dry and brittle much of the year. Robert Greene, The Mercury News, 1 Feb. 2025 Like hope, wonder is doubt is faith is A woman exiled, feeling her way from paradise to an arid wilderness Stolen in pursuit of ahistorical happiness, amnesiac. Paul Tran, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025 To befriend them even, because respite from their diverse griefs can disappear quickly into the downs of a staunch, arid landscape. Ritesh Mehta, IndieWire, 26 Jan. 2025 Fire crews moved fast, throwing heavy resources at the fires as Santa Ana winds delivered a big, direct hit on San Diego County, arriving from the east-northeast before dawn and whooshing largely unfettered through arid mountain passes and canyons. Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for arid 

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French & Latin; French aride, going back to Middle French, borrowed from Latin āridus, ārdus "dry, waterless, withered, austere (of style)," derivative, with the adjective suffix -idus, of ārēre "to be dry, parched, withered," going back to Indo-European *h2eh1s-eh1-, stative derivative of a verbal base *h2eh1s- "make dry with heat," whence also Tocharian A asatär "(it) dries up," Tocharian B osotär; also from the same base a root noun *h2eh1s-, whence Hittite ḫāšš- "ashes, dust," from which as thematic derivatives Sanskrit ā́saḥ "ashes, dust," and (as a collective or noun of appurtenance?) *h2eh1s-eh2-, whence Latin āra "altar," Oscan aasaí (locative), Hittite ḫāššā- "hearth," Old High German essa, esse "forge" (from *asjō-), Old Swedish æsia, æssia "smith's fire," Old Icelandic esja "soapstone (used in hearths)" (both from *asjōn-)

Note: Regarding the apparent derivatives ardēre "to burn, emit light or flame" and ardor "burning, fierce heat," see ardent. — Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben gives the "essive" (= stative) form of the verbal base *h2eh1s as *h2h1s-h1i̯é- and attributes the length in Latin ārēre to the influence of noun derivatives such as āra. D. Adams, however, regards the original base in Tocharian A and B to have been *ās-, corresponding to the length in the Latin verb (see A Dictionary of Tocharian B, Revised and Greatly Enlarged, Rodopi, 2013, p. 63). A. Kloekhorst (Etymological Dictionary of the Hittite Inherited Lexicon, Brill, 2008, pp. 322-23) regards the short vowel in Germanic as the residue of an oblique case form *h1h2s- of the root noun. See also ash entry 2, azalea.

First Known Use

1652, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of arid was in 1652

Dictionary Entries Near arid

Cite this Entry

“Arid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arid. Accessed 8 Feb. 2025.

Kids Definition

arid

adjective
ar·​id ˈar-əd How to pronounce arid (audio)
: very dry
especially : not having enough rainfall to support agriculture
aridity noun

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