arid
/ˈæɹɪd/adjective
arid is spelled A-R-I-D: 4 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.3 times per million words in written English, the 17,813th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, arid means “Very dry” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in arid?
| Letters | 4: A-R-I-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.3 times per million words; the 17,813th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is arid?
Arid appears 2.3 times per million words in written English, the 17,813th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce arid?
- UK /ˈæɹɪd/
- British /ˈaɹɪd/
- US /ˈæɹɪd/
Arid has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-ne-arid.ogg, En-us-arid.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with arid?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as arid (/æɹɪd/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: raid, dari, riad, dira.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of arid
- arider comparative
- more arid comparative
- aridest superlative
- most arid superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does arid mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Very dry.
The cake was arid.
- 2
Describing a very dry climate. Typically defined as less than 25 cm or 10 inches of rainfall annually.
Deserts are known for being arid.
- 3
Devoid of value.
The millionaire viewed his gift as arid.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Arid in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense very dry:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does arid come from?
From French aride or directly from Latin āridus (“dry, arid, parched”), compare its synonymous contracted form ardus. Originally from the verb āreo (“to be dry, to be parched”), akin to ārdeō (“to be on fire, to burn”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).