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

---

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

---

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 ( see bare ¹ ( def. ))

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

Next weekend this place is gonna be barren.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 26, 2026

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

The consistency with which Wales are reaching these stages is a far cry from the barren half a century which preceded Euro 2016.

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026

I wasn’t exactly eavesdropping, but before I got all the way out the door and past the porch window, I heard her say something about being afraid she was barren.

From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool

Related Words

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