arid

1 of 2

adjective

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

aridity

2 of 2

noun

arid·​i·​ty ə-ˈri-də-tē How to pronounce aridity (audio) a- How to pronounce aridity (audio)
plural -es
1
: the quality or state of being arid : dryness
the aridity of desert sands
2
: unavailability of water present in a habitat to organisms occupying that habitat whether caused by inability of the organisms to remove the water or to the ability of the soil to withhold it

Synonyms of arid

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Adjective

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Examples of arid in a Sentence

Adjective 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.
Adjective
But, because the vast majority of our planet is covered in water and non-arid land, they are rarely observed by human eyes. — Literary Hub, 10 Aug. 2026 Another benefit is experiencing the shift from western Washington’s lush forests to the semi-arid steppe of Naches in the east. — Zoe Baillargeon, Travel + Leisure, 10 Aug. 2026 This year, Europe has been sweltering under an exceptionally hot and arid summer, with tinderbox conditions setting off unprecedented fires that have forced hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate homes and vacation spots. — ABC News, 5 Aug. 2026 Furthermore, developers routinely ignore local water shortages to build water-intensive cooling systems in arid regions. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 3 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for arid

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

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.

Noun

Latin ariditas, from aridus + -itas -ity

First Known Use

Adjective

1652, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of arid was in 1652

Phrases Containing arid

Rhymes for arid

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Browse Nearby Words

aricuri
arid
arid cycle
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Cite this Entry

“Arid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arid. Accessed 15 Aug. 2026.

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Kids Definition

arid

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

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