bone dry
Completely without moisture
Bone dry means completely without moisture—as dry as a desiccated bone.
The phrase emphasizes total dryness: The riverbed was bone dry by August.
It extends to any absence of liquid: The well ran bone dry, I'm bone dry—I need a drink.
Often hyphenated when used before a noun: bone-dry soil.
Severely lacking moisture
- desiccatedThoroughly dehydrated
- parchedExtremely dry or thirsty
- witheredDried and shrunken
- shriveledContracted from moisture loss
brittle · crumbly · dusty · powdery · crispy · cracked · hardened · wizened
Extremely dry or thirsty
- dehydratedSeverely lacking moisture
- cottonmouthVenomous semiaquatic pit viper
- thirstyNeeding hydration
- gaspingBreathing in sharp gulps
gulping · dryness · desperate · heatstroke · sunstroke · hydration · quench
To leave behind completely
- droughtProlonged water scarcity
- aridDevoid of water
- barrenUnable to produce
- wastelandUninhabitable barren region
scorching · sunbaked · heatwave · dustbowl · badlands · rainless · evaporation · dunes
Refusing to give way
- inflexibleUnable to bend
- uncompromisingRefusing to yield ground
- sternStrict or ship's aft
- humorlessWithout wit or levity
deadpan · matter-of-fact · teetotal · sober · abstinent · prohibitionist · temperance · no-nonsense
dehydrated
Severely lacking moisture
- desiccatedThoroughly dehydrated
- parchedExtremely dry or thirsty
- witheredDried and shrunken
shriveled · brittle · crumbly · dusty · powdery · crispy · cracked · hardened · wizened · sere
parched
Extremely dry or thirsty
- dehydratedSeverely lacking moisture
- cottonmouthVenomous semiaquatic pit viper
- thirstyNeeding hydration
gasping · gulping · dryness · desperate · heatstroke · sunstroke · hydration · quench
desert
To leave behind completely
wasteland · scorching · sunbaked · heatwave · dustbowl · badlands · rainless · evaporation · dunes · steppe
unyielding
Refusing to give way
- inflexibleUnable to bend
- uncompromisingRefusing to yield ground
- sternStrict or ship's aft
humorless · deadpan · matter-of-fact · teetotal · sober · abstinent · prohibitionist · temperance · no-nonsense · austere
brut
Unsweetened sparkling wine designation
- crispFirm and breakable
- tannicHaving bark-derived acids
- astringentTissue-contracting agent
unsweet · sharp · acidic · vintage · sommelier · palate · finish · champagne · prosecco
- ceramicspottery, porcelain, cup, bowl, plate
- desert climatearid, aridity, extreme heat, scorching heat, desert heat
- Droughtwater shortage, no rain, low rainfall, parched earth, parched land
- drynessarid, aridity, dehydrated, desiccated, desiccation
- Hyperbolea zillion, bazillion, gazillion, bajillion, zillion
- moisture termsmoisture, humidity, wetness, dampness, dryness
bone drysoaking wet
Saturated with liquid
saturated · drenched · sopping wet · waterlogged · dripping wet
bone drysweet
Tasting of sugar
dessert wine · saccharine · off-dry · semi-sweet · syrupy
dry, bone, bones, bony, bone-dry, ossify, boniness, osteopathy