aridity
pronunciation
How to pronounce aridity in British English: UK [ə'rɪdətɪ]
How to pronounce aridity in American English: US [ə'rɪdətɪ]
-
- Noun:
- a condition yielding nothing of value
- a permanent absence of rainfall
Word Origin
- aridity (n.)
- 1590s, from Middle French aridité or directly from Latin ariditatem (nominative ariditas) "dryness," from aridus (see arid). The Latin word was used figuratively of unadorned styles as well as stingy men.
Example
- 1. There is no statistically significant relationship between aridity and autocracy outside the conquered world .
- 2. Over millennia changes in climate have resulted in greater aridity of the tibetan plateau .
- 3. Last week , newscasters reported on another fire tornado in the brazilian municipality of aracatuba in sao paulo state , provoked by this summer 's unusual aridity .
- 4. These could be affected even if drought is not more widespread everywhere , because heat and aridity do their damage at particular times ( for example , during flowering ) so crops can be hurt even when a drought does not last long .
- 5. Meanwhile , at the foot of the mountain , the villagers stared in puzzlement at the dry bottom of their communal well , wondering what had caused this sudden aridity .