barren
Americanadjective
-
not producing or incapable of producing offspring; sterile.
a barren woman.
- Synonyms:
- infertile, unprolific, childless
- Antonyms:
- fertile
-
unproductive; unfruitful.
barren land.
- Antonyms:
- fertile
-
without capacity to interest or attract.
a barren period in American architecture.
- Antonyms:
- fertile
-
mentally unproductive; dull; stupid.
- Antonyms:
- fertile
-
not producing results; fruitless.
a barren effort.
- Synonyms:
- ineffective, ineffectual
- Antonyms:
- fertile
-
destitute; bereft; lacking (usually followed byof ).
barren of tender feelings.
- Antonyms:
- fertile
noun
adjective
-
incapable of producing offspring, seed, or fruit; sterile
a barren tree
-
unable to support the growth of crops, etc; unproductive; bare
barren land
-
lacking in stimulation or ideas; dull
a rather barren play
-
not producing worthwhile results; unprofitable
a barren period in a writer's life
-
(foll by of) totally lacking (in); devoid (of)
his speech was barren of wit
-
(of rock strata) having no fossils
Related Words
See bare 1.
Other Word Forms
- barrenly adverb
- barrenness noun
- unbarren adjective
- unbarrenly adverb
- unbarrenness noun
Etymology
Origin of barren
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English barayn(e), bareyn(e), from Anglo-French barai(gn)e, Old French brahaigne ( French bréhaigne “sterile”), akin to Spanish breña “scrubby, uncultivated ground,” Upper Italian barena “land along a lagoon covered by high water,” all of disputed ultimate origin; perhaps from Celtic (compare Irish branar, Welsh braenar “fallow land”); alternatively, perhaps from a Germanic source akin to Old English bær, Old High German bar ( bare 1 ( def. ) )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Outwardly a barren desert island, Larak has housed a Russian-made satellite communications-jamming system guarded by Iranian naval infantry and fast-attack vessels with antiship missiles, according to Israel-based Alma Research and Education Center.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026
Understanding how this wetter world transformed into the barren landscape we see now remains a major question in planetary science.
From Science Daily • Mar. 27, 2026
Don’t trample or pick the flowers and stay on the paths because even barren ground could have seeds germinating beneath.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2026
The barren sands yielded nothing and the team, disheartened, headed back to their camp.
From Barron's • Feb. 27, 2026
But they would not leave their barren isle.
From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
