wasteland
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
an empty area of land where nothing grows or where everything has been destroyed.
a barren, often devastated region that is uninhabitable or lacks natural resources.
Simple“After the long drought, the once green fields turned into a dusty wasteland.”
In context“The treaty created a buffer zone that, after decades of neglect and conflict, had become a desolate wasteland where few species could survive.”
Synonyms - 02 C1 Advanced
a place, time, or situation that has no new ideas, culture, or interest.
a metaphorical void characterized by a lack of intellectual, aesthetic, or cultural merit.
Simple“He complained that modern television had become a cultural wasteland of reality shows.”
In context“Critics often dismissed the mid-century architectural period as an aesthetic wasteland, though modern scholars have recently begun to re-evaluate its functionalist merits.”
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
an area of land in a city that is not being used and is often ugly or covered in trash.
an area of urban or industrial land that is currently uncultivated, neglected, or derelict.
Simple“The kids used the urban wasteland behind the factory as a makeshift playground.”
In context“The city council proposed a redevelopment plan to transform the industrial wasteland along the river into a vibrant public park.”
Synonymsbarrenderelict land
Inherited from Middle English wast lond, modification of earlier weste lond, from Old English weste land (“wasteland”); equivalent to waste + land.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.