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 Without some excess irrigation, farming in many parts of the arid West is not sustainable. The Arizona Republic, 15 Mar. 2024 The gardens feature mostly native and drought-tolerant plantings, ideal for the often arid Southern California climate, and naturally the entire property is walled and gated for privacy and security. James McClain, Robb Report, 14 Mar. 2024 The Eastern Coachella Valley, an important agricultural area in Southern California, is a hot and arid place, with summer temperatures frequently rising above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Dorany Pineda, Fortune, 4 Mar. 2024 While coyotes once lived only in the arid West, the efforts to eradicate them have driven them to every corner of the North American continent. Tribune News Service, Orange County Register, 2 Feb. 2024 Still, having a healthy starter is only half the battle of baking, especially at altitude and in a climate as arid as Colorado’s. Tiney Ricciardi, The Denver Post, 1 Feb. 2024 Black-footed cats are the smallest species of wild cat in Africa and can be found in the arid eastern parts of Namibia, Central and Southern Botswana, and South Africa, according to Hogle Zoo. USA TODAY, 17 Jan. 2024 The violence began in neighboring Mali in 2012 but has since spread across the arid expanse of the Sahel region south of the Sahara Desert. Nimi Princewill, CNN, 4 Mar. 2024 Earlier this week, wild flames broke out and swept across the arid Texas Panhandle, aided by gusty winds, low humidity and extreme heat across the state that brought temperatures 20 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than February averages. Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'arid.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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 29 Mar. 2024.

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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