aridity

[ uh-rid-i-tee ]

noun

1. the state or quality of being extremely dry:

   Many plant and animal adaptations to withstand the intense aridity of the desert are quite bizarre.

2. the quality of lacking interest, liveliness, or imaginativeness; sterility:

   His writing style is excellent, avoiding the technical aridity of most professional science publications.

Word History and Origins

Origin of aridity¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin āriditāt-, stem of āriditās, equivalent to ārid(us) “dry” ( arid ( def ) ) + -itās -ity ( def )

Example Sentences

The Atacama Desert, which runs along the Pacific Coast in Chile, is the driest place on the planet and, largely because of that aridity, hostile to most living things.

From Science Daily

A recent study in the journal Nature Climate Change found that severe increases in aridity caused by climate change is drying out frog habitats across the globe.

From Salon

The climate pattern could plunge California back into aridity in the months ahead.

From Los Angeles Times

The extra heat and aridity may then make conditions favorable for more fire.

From Science Daily

One problem, researchers say, is that the monitor was launched just as one of the driest periods in the history of the Southwest began, and it has never been adjusted for the region’s growing aridity.

From Los Angeles Times

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