arid

• The weariness we had for a long time experienced at seeing coasts which for the most part were arid, and offered not the slightest resource, was dissipated by the expectation of coming upon a more promising country. —  The Life of Captain Matthew Flinders
• As a black he had run into some rough experiences when he served as a geologist in the Texas oil fields, but his obvious willingness to mix it up with all comers quickly established his integrity, and during NASA field trips to the arid wastes of Arizona, which had always been used to familiarize astronauts with the probable surface of the Moon, he demonstrated more raw endurance than either of his mates. —  Space
• He sent us to this arid wasteland so that Mona could be presented to me. —  Date With Death
• Ahead, the ancient stronghold rose from the arid wasteland like the stump of a long-dead tree. —  Conan The Hunter
• After Katherine the country gradually became more arid, the trees more scattered and desiccated, till by the evening they were running through a country that was near to desert. —  A Town Like Alice

Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Used in the Same Context