badlands

14 8.7

Dry land with steep, worn hills and little plant life

noun
/ˈbædˌlændz/

: tierra baldía

Many tourists visit the Badlands National Park in South Dakota to experience these unique geological formations.

Examples

Visitors often take photographs of the intricate patterns of ridges and gullies found in the badlands.
Farming is nearly impossible in the badlands because of the poor soil and severe erosion.
The rugged badlands stretched as far as the eye could see, with no sign of human habitation.
The badlands are a fascinating place to explore.
Many animals adapt to life in the badlands.
Farming is nearly impossible in the badlands because of the poor soil and severe erosion.
The rugged badlands stretched as far as the eye could see, with no sign of human habitation.

Synonyms

wasteland

vsbadlands

44 4.9

A large empty area of land with no plants or people

is a specific eroded landscape with steep ridges and little vegetation

Compounds

Badlands

13 7.7

A dry area with few plants and worn away rock shapes

Badlands National Park

1 5.8

A national park in South Dakota with eroded rock shapes and many ancient fossils

How Barren

desert

726 1.3

badlands

14 8.7

scrubland

1 6.6

grassland

19 2.7

meadow

79 1.0

Surface Forms

badlands plural

Morphology

badlands = badland (semi-transparent) = bad + land + s

The components 'bad' + 'land' make the general idea clear, but the specific geological sense (eroded terrain with gullies and steep slopes) is a specialized extension that learners may not fully infer.

Etymology

Badlands comes from the plain English parts bad and land, literally meaning 'bad land' or land that is 'not good' for farming or living. That's why badlands now describes dry, worn places with steep slopes, deep valleys and little or no plants.