wasteland
/ˈweɪs(t)ˌlænd/noun
wasteland is spelled W-A-S-T-E-L-A-N-D: 9 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,651st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, wasteland means “A place with no remaining resources; a desert” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of wasteland is wastelands.
How many letters and syllables are in wasteland?
| Letters | 9: W-A-S-T-E-L-A-N-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.5 times per million words; the 22,651st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is wasteland?
Wasteland appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,651st 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 wasteland?
- UK /ˈweɪs(t)ˌland/
- UK /ˈweɪs(t)ˌlənd/
- US /ˈweɪs(t)ˌlænd/
Wasteland 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-wasteland.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with wasteland
Also written: waste land (one word or two).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of wasteland
- wastelands plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does wasteland mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A place with no remaining resources; a desert.
Ten years of drought had left the area a wasteland.
- 2
Any barren or uninteresting place.
After his experiences, he no longer found western Kansas such a wasteland.
- 3
A devastated, uninhabitable area.
- 4
Unused land.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Wasteland in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense region with no remaining resources; desert:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | désert, friche, steppe |
| German | Ödland, Wüste, Wüstenlandschaft, Wüstenei, Ödnis |
| Portuguese | deserto, terreno baldio, charneca |
| Spanish | desierto, yermo, páramo, baldío, terreno baldío, barbecho |
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 wasteland come from?
Inherited from Middle English wast lond, modification of earlier weste lond, from Old English weste land (“wasteland”); equivalent to waste + land.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).