wasteland

noun

Etymology: Inherited from Middle English wast lond, modification of earlier weste lond, from Old English weste land (“wasteland”); equivalent to waste + land.

1. A place with no remaining resources; a desert.

   “Ten years of drought had left the area a wasteland.”

   “2007, Kai Hansen, "To Mother Earth", Gamma Ray, Land of the Free II. Here create another wasteland / On and on 'til nothing's there / Here it comes, the devastation / Poisoning the air”

2. Any barren or uninteresting place.

   “After his experiences, he no longer found western Kansas such a wasteland.”

   “Keep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off. I can assure you that what you will observe is a vast wasteland.”

3. A devastated, uninhabitable area.

   “Another place where, from the aesthetic point of view, a long tunnel would have been a real blessing, is East London as viewed from the carriage window on the old Great Eastern line. Despite a vast change from crowded slums to tracts of wasteland, due to its grim wartime experience, this approach still provides a shabby and unworthy introduction to the great capital.”

   “How many nuclear missiles would have to be launched at the United States to turn it into a complete wasteland?”

4. Unused land.

   “Azaz and Ray were nominated individually for what, at first glance, looked like a project to transform wasteland at South Tottenham station into a community garden.”