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barren
[ bar-uhn ]
/ ËbĂŠr Én /
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adjective
noun
Usually barrens. level or slightly rolling land, usually with a sandy soil and few trees, and relatively infertile.
OTHER WORDS FOR barren
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Origin of barren
1200â50; Middle English bareyn(e), barayn(e) <Anglo-French barai(gn)e,Old French brahaigne (French brĂ©haigne (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
Words nearby barren
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use barren in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for barren
barren
/ (ËbĂŠrÉn) /
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, nounWord Origin for barren
C13: from Old French brahain, of uncertain origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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