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.
Under a contentious deal inked with Australia this year, the island nation will provide 30-year visas for up to 350 immigrants -- many convicted of serious crimes -- for resettlement on the barren atoll.
From Barron's
But the usually barren landscape has been transformed by a carpet of colourful wildflowers, which have been brought to life by significant rainfall during the southern hemisphere's winter months.
From BBC
His employers risk being saddled with stars on the decline and a barren farm system after his departure.
This connection was severed, drying the Red Sea into a barren salt desert.
From Science Daily
But when wasting disease in effect wiped out their main predator, the sea urchins exploded in number, decimating kelp forests and transforming once-lush underwater habitats into so-called urchin barrens.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
