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

Depending on the era, the ground beneath your feet could be a tropical seabed, a toxic volcanic wasteland, or a glacial shelf. —Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 29 Apr. 2026

The series returned earlier this year for Season 2, taking viewers on a journey through the wasteland of the Mojave to the post-apocalyptic city of New Vegas. —Katie Campione, Deadline, 25 Apr. 2026

But there are green shoots amid the wasteland. —Jennifer Noyes, Air Mail, 25 Apr. 2026

In it, a crescent of Earth’s blue vitality hovers amid the blackness of space, above a high-definition brownish gray wasteland of lunar craters. —Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 22 Apr. 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