a region so arid because of little rainfall that it supports only sparse and widely spaced vegetation or no vegetation at all

The Sahara is a vast sandy desert.

any area in which few forms of life can exist because of lack of water, permanent frost, or absence of soil.

an area of the ocean in which it is believed no marine life exists.

(formerly) any unsettled area between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains thought to be unsuitable for human habitation.

any place lacking in something

The town was a cultural desert.

of, pertaining to, or like a desert; desolate; barren.

occurring, living, or flourishing in the desert

a desert tribe; a desert palm.

designed or suitable for wear in the desert, as cool, protective clothing

a big, wide-brimmed desert hat.

adjective

cultivated , fertile , productive , arable

noun

wetland

verb

aid , assist , come back , help , stay , support

adjective

arid , bare , desolate , infertile , lonely , solitary , sterile , uninhabited , unproductive , untilled , waste , wildnotes:that impoverished stretch of sand called a desert can only afford one \'s\'; that rich gooey extra thing at the end of the meal called a dessert indulges in two of them , barren , deserted , inarable

noun

arid region , badland , barren , barren land , flats , lava bed , sahara , sand dunes , solitude , wild , wilderness , wildsnotes:that impoverished stretch of sand called a desert can only afford one \'s\'; that rich gooey extra thing at the end of the meal called a dessert indulges in two of them , badlands , waste , wasteland , comeuppance , guerdon , recompense , reward , wage , abandonment , abdication , abrogation , abscondence , absentation , absquatulation , apostasy , defection , desertion , due , meed , merit , renunciation , tergiversation

verb

abscond , apostatize , bail out * , beach , betray , bolt , check out * , chuck , cop out * , crawl out , decamp , depart , duck * , escape , flee , fly , forsake , give up , go , go awol , go back on , go over the hill , go west , jilt , leave , leave high and dry , leave in the lurch , leave stranded , light , maroon , opt out , play truant , pull out , quit , relinquish , renounce , resign , run out on , sneak off , split * , strand , take a hike , take off , tergiversate , throw over , vacate , violate oath , walknotes:that impoverished stretch of sand called a desert can only afford one \'s\'; that rich gooey extra thing at the end of the meal called a dessert indulges in two of them , renegade , turn , abandon , abdicate , absquatulate , barren , defect , deserved , elope , merited , punishment , renege , reward , run away from , sand , split , wasteland