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Which region did naturalist Edwin James mistakenly describe as "barren desert"?

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barren

American  

[bar-uhn] / ˈbær ən /

adjective

1. 

   not producing or incapable of producing offspring; sterile.

   a barren woman.

   Synonyms:

   infertile, unprolific, childless

   Antonyms:

   fertile

2. unproductive; unfruitful.

   barren land.

   Synonyms:

   waste, infertile

   Antonyms:

   fertile

3. without capacity to interest or attract.

   a barren period in American architecture.

   Antonyms:

   fertile

4. mentally unproductive; dull; stupid.

   Antonyms:

   fertile

5. not producing results; fruitless.

   a barren effort.

   Synonyms:

   ineffective, ineffectual

   Antonyms:

   fertile

6. destitute; bereft; lacking (usually followed byof ).

   barren of tender feelings.

   Antonyms:

   fertile

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noun

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

barren British  

/ ˈbærən /

adjective

1. incapable of producing offspring, seed, or fruit; sterile

   a barren tree

2. unable to support the growth of crops, etc; unproductive; bare

   barren land

3. lacking in stimulation or ideas; dull

   a rather barren play

4. not producing worthwhile results; unprofitable

   a barren period in a writer's life

5. (foll by of) totally lacking (in); devoid (of)

   his speech was barren of wit

6. (of rock strata) having no fossils

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Synonym Usage

See bare ¹.

Other Word Forms

• barrenness
  noun
• unbarrenness
  noun
• unbarren
  adjective
• barrenly
  adverb
• unbarrenly
  adverb

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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 ( see bare ¹ ( def. ))

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Explanation

Drive through a forest that's just been destroyed by a fire, and you'll get an idea of what barren means — stripped of vegetation and devoid of life. Not to be confused with a baron, a kind of nobleman, barren is often used to describe an area of land that lacks any signs of life. A barren wilderness is dry and empty, with no foliage or twittering birds to be found. An old-fashioned and unflattering word for a woman who is unable to have children is barren.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

barren

Last month, a few executives based in Riyadh even drove themselves to Damascus—an 18-hour drive through barren desert and across two international borders—rather than risk flying.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

One option mooted by the Italian is midfielder Phil Foden, who ended his barren run in front of goal on Saturday by scoring his first Premier League goal since December.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

The city is sick, as evidenced in photos of barren studio lots, burning trees and the boarded-up Cinerama Dome.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

The designer Maruti Evans illustrates the contrast effectively, the icy marble and barren trees of Sicilia transformed into a riot of colorful flora.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

The visual image congealed; he saw at once a famous landscape, the old, brown, barren ascent, with tufts of dried-out bonelike weeds poking slantedly into a dim and sunless sky.

From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick

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Related Words

• arid
• desolate
• empty
• impoverished
• infertile
• parched
• sterile

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