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definitions

barren

[ bar-uhn ]
/ ˈbær ən /
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR barren ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

noun

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

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RELATED WORDS

infertility, impotence, emptiness, bleakness, aridity, infecundity

Nearby words

  1. barreleye,
  2. barrelfish,
  3. barrelful,
  4. barrelhead,
  5. barrelhouse,
  6. barren ground caribou,
  7. barren grounds,
  8. barren lands,
  9. barren strawberry,
  10. barrenly

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
Related forms
Can be confusedbarren baron baronet

Synonym study

2. See bare1.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for barrenness

British Dictionary definitions for barrenness

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 Formsbarrenly, 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

Medicine definitions for barrenness

barren

[ băr′ən ]

adj.

Not producing offspring.
Incapable of producing offspring.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.