barren

[ bar-uhn ]

/ ˈbær ən /

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See synonyms for: barren / barrens / barrenness on Thesaurus.com

adjective

not producing or incapable of producing offspring; sterile: a barren woman.

unproductive; unfruitful: barren land.

without capacity to interest or attract: a barren period in American architecture.

mentally unproductive; dull; stupid.

not producing results; fruitless: a barren effort.

destitute; bereft; lacking (usually followed by of): barren of tender feelings.

noun

Usually barrens. level or slightly rolling land, usually with a sandy soil and few trees, and relatively infertile.

OTHER WORDS FOR barren

1 childless, unprolific, infertile.

2 infertile, depleted, waste.

5 ineffectual, ineffective.

See synonyms for barren on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR barren

1-6 fertile.

See antonyms for barren on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of barren

1200–50; Middle English bareyn(e), barayn(e) <Anglo-French barai(gn)e,Old French brahaigne (French bréhaigne (of animals) sterile), akin to Spanish breña scrubby, uncultivated ground, Upper Italian barena land along a lagoon covered by high water; apparently <Celtic, compare Welsh braenar,Irish branar fallow land, but derivational details unclear

synonym study for barren

2. See bare¹.

OTHER WORDS FROM barren

bar·ren·ly, adverbbar·ren·ness, nounun·bar·ren, adjectiveun·bar·ren·ly, adverb

un·bar·ren·ness, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH barren

barren , baron, baronet

Words nearby barren

barrel organ, barrel race, barrel roll, barrel roof, barrel vault, barren, barren ground caribou, Barren Grounds, Barren Lands, barrens, barren strawberry

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use barren in a sentence

Temperatures across the barren, windy highlands routinely dip below –30° Celsius, and the grass that typically sustains the rabbitlike mammals becomes dry and brittle.
Pikas survive winter using a slower metabolism and, at times, yak poop|Jonathan Lambert|July 19, 2021|Science News
With the help of nonprofit groups, the community planted hundreds of trees, turning some of the barren hillsides green.
Mixing trees and crops can help both farmers and the climate|Jonathan Lambert|July 14, 2021|Science News
For example, if you select a grey leaning toward a blue hue you might get prospective buyers to question the brightness of a space as blue tones are often found to be “cold” or barren.
Tips to properly prep your home to sell for the most|Justin Noble|June 24, 2021|Washington Blade
It was once thought the solar system was probably a barren wasteland apart from Earth.
The best places to find extraterrestrial life in our solar system, ranked|Neel V. Patel|June 16, 2021|MIT Technology Review

In the present, out there in Australia’s dinosaur country, you might find yourself staring across a barren plain imagining what other secrets this world of long-lost giants will reveal.
Lizard of Oz: Australia’s Biggest Dinosaur Discovered|Scott Hocknull and Rochelle Lawrence, The Conversation|June 7, 2021|The Daily Beast
First, though, he has to be shocked into recognizing the barren waste of his spiritual life – by spirits.
How Dickens and Scrooge Saved Christmas|Clive Irving|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He'd kept the few offices at the front of the bungalow, now oddly barren.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Without it in the atmosphere, the Earth would be a barren, frozen wasteland.
Extreme Weather? Blame the End Times|Jay Michaelson|November 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Ibrahim Hijazi walked me through his barren house, emptied ahead of the demolition.
In Jerusalem Home Demolitions, the Biblical Justice of Revenge|Creede Newton|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Some parts were arid, nearly barren, others green and fertile.
‘The Harness Maker’s Dream:’ The Unlikely Ranch King of Texas|Nick Kotz|September 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Nothing, however, can save us but a union, which would turn our barren hills into fruitful valleys.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun;|Various
The cost of extraction varies in different localities, depending mainly on the mass of barren rock to be encountered and removed.
Asbestos|Robert H. Jones
There the quantity of barren overlying rock and earth is enormous, and detracts immensely from the value of the mines.
Asbestos|Robert H. Jones
The coast is sandy, and from M. Peron's description, barren and unprofitable.
Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia] [Volume 2 of 2]|Phillip Parker King
After a barren discussion she held out her hand, large and generous like herself.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke

British Dictionary definitions for barren

barren

/ (ˈbærən) /

adjective

incapable of producing offspring, seed, or fruit; sterilea barren tree

unable to support the growth of crops, etc; unproductive; barebarren land

lacking in stimulation or ideas; dulla rather barren play

not producing worthwhile results; unprofitablea 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

Derived forms of barren

barrenly, adverbbarrenness, noun

Word Origin for barren

C13: from Old French brahain, of uncertain origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

barren

OTHER WORDS FOR barren

OPPOSITES FOR barren

Origin of barren

synonym study for barren

OTHER WORDS FROM barren

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH barren

Words nearby barren

Words related to barren

How to use barren in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for barren

Derived forms of barren

Word Origin for barren