arid
pronunciation
How to pronounce arid in British English:
UK [ˈærɪd]
How to pronounce arid in American English:
US [ˈærɪd]
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- Adjective:
- lacking sufficient water or rainfall
- lacking vitality or spirit; lifeless
Word Origin
- arid
- arid: [17] English acquired arid from Latin aridus, either directly or via French aride. The Latin adjective is part of a web of related words denoting ‘dryness’ or ‘burning’: it came from the verb ārēre ‘be dry’, which may be the source of area; it seems to have connections with a prehistoric Germanic *azgon, source of English ash ‘burnt matter’, and with Greek azaléos ‘dry’, source of English azalea [18] (so named from its favouring dry soil); and the Latin verb ardēre ‘burn’ was derived from it, from which English gets ardour [14], ardent [14], and arson.=> ardour, area, arson, ash, azalea
- arid (adj.)
- 1650s, "dry, parched," from French aride (15c.) or directly from Latin aridus "dry, arid, parched," from arere "to be dry," from PIE root *as- "to burn, glow" (see ash (n.1)). Figurative sense of "uninteresting" is from 1827. Related: Aridly.
Synonym
Example
- 1. Native americans adapted the arid desert southwest .
- 2. Arid conditions in one area might count as plentiful rainfall in another .
- 3. Its supporters promise jobs and investment in an arid , poverty-stricken part of kenya .
- 4. Because water is usually free , thirsty crops like alfalfa are grown in arid california .
- 5. Higher temperatures might turn arid shrub lands into deserts while improving the growing season in colder steppes .