Meanings
- uncountableThe process by which a geographic region becomes a desert, resulting from natural changes in climate or by human activity.
desertification – the spread of desert-like conditions in arid or semi-arid areas, due to overgrazing, loss of agriculturally productive soils, or climate change
2003, Central Intelligence Agency, The 2003 CIA World Factbook, archived from the original on 07 Dec 20252 more examples
Desertification, as defined by the CCD, means "land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities."
1998, “Fact Sheet: Desertification”, in United States Department of State, archived from the original on 03 Apr 2019A first major shift in physical scientists' perception of the Sahel and desertification, defined as “land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities” (United Nations 1994), occurred following the introduction in the early 1980s of novel remote sensing technology to monitor vegetation cover. […] Given the role of climate in desertification and regreening, resolving the attribution question (i.e., of land cover change to climatic or human factors) is of relevance to adaptation to climate change
2016 January 1, Giannini et al., “A Quantitative Evaluation of the Multiple Narratives of the Recent Sahelian Regreening”, in Weather, Climate, and Society, archived from the original on 16 Jan 2026Synonyms: desertization, land degradation
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe process by which a geographic region becomes a desert, resulting from natural changes in climate or by human activity.
Origin
From desert + -ification (“process of becoming”).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic تَصَحُّر
- تَصَحُّر (taṣaḥḥur)process by which a region becomes a desert
Catalan desertificació, desertització
- desertificacióprocess by which a region becomes a desert
- desertitzacióprocess by which a region becomes a desert
Chinese Mandarin 沙漠化, 荒漠化
- 沙漠化 (shāmòhuà)process by which a region becomes a desert
- 荒漠化 (huāngmòhuà)process by which a region becomes a desert
Dutch verwoestijning, woestijnvorming
- verwoestijningprocess by which a region becomes a desert
- woestijnvormingprocess by which a region becomes a desert
Finnish aavikoituminen
- aavikoituminenprocess by which a region becomes a desert
French désertification
- désertificationprocess by which a region becomes a desert
German Desertifikation, fortschreitende Wüstenbildung
- Desertifikationprocess by which a region becomes a desert
- fortschreitende Wüstenbildungprocess by which a region becomes a desert
Greek ερημοποίηση
- ερημοποίηση (erimopoíisi)process by which a region becomes a desert
Hungarian elsivatagosodás
- elsivatagosodásprocess by which a region becomes a desert
Italian desertificazione
- desertificazioneprocess by which a region becomes a desert
Japanese 砂漠化
- 砂漠化 (sabakuka)process by which a region becomes a desert
Korean 사막화
- 사막화 (samakhwa)process by which a region becomes a desert
Malay penggurunan, desertifikasi
- penggurunanprocess by which a region becomes a desert
- desertifikasiprocess by which a region becomes a desert
Polish pustynnienie
- pustynnienieprocess by which a region becomes a desert
Portuguese desertificação
- desertificaçãoprocess by which a region becomes a desert
Romanian desertificare, desertizare
- desertificareprocess by which a region becomes a desert
- desertizareprocess by which a region becomes a desert
- desertificațieprocess by which a region becomes a desert
- desertizațieprocess by which a region becomes a desert
Russian опусты́нивание, дезертифика́ция
- опусты́нивание (opustýnivanije)process by which a region becomes a desert
- дезертифика́ция (dezertifikácija)process by which a region becomes a desert
Spanish desertificación, desertización
- desertificaciónprocess by which a region becomes a desert
- desertizaciónprocess by which a region becomes a desert
Swedish ökenspridning
- ökenspridningprocess by which a region becomes a desert
Ukrainian опустелювання
- опустелювання (opustelûvannâ)process by which a region becomes a desert
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with desertification
Cite this entry
desertification. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/desertification
“desertification.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/desertification. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “desertification,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/desertification.
Source: desertification on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.