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
As Prime Video prepares to return to the post-nuclear dystopia of Fallout, two major characters bonded over the desert wasteland.
—
Glenn Garner, Deadline, 22 Oct. 2025
Roughly six million years ago, shifting tectonic plates closed the Strait of Gibraltar — a narrow body of water connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean — turning the area into a desertic wasteland.
—Big Think, 17 Oct. 2025
Instead, the war that resulted transformed the archipelago into a post-apocalyptic wasteland of famine, disease, ecological disaster, and hundreds of thousands dead.
—Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for wasteland
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.
Glenn Garner, Deadline, 22 Oct. 2025
Roughly six million years ago, shifting tectonic plates closed the Strait of Gibraltar — a narrow body of water connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean — turning the area into a desertic wasteland.
—Big Think, 17 Oct. 2025
Instead, the war that resulted transformed the archipelago into a post-apocalyptic wasteland of famine, disease, ecological disaster, and hundreds of thousands dead.
—Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for wasteland
Cite this Entry
“Wasteland.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wasteland. Accessed 29 Oct. 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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share