Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for barrens. Search instead for tarres.
Synonyms

barrens

British  
/ ˈbærənz /

plural noun

  1. (sometimes singular) (in North America) a stretch of usually level land that is sparsely vegetated or barren

"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

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.

See Examples For:

In these cases, intense grazing by urchins can strip seafloors of plant life, damaging marine habitats and creating so-called "urchin barrens."

From Science Daily Dec. 12, 2025

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 Aug. 4, 2025

The wild blueberry, which grows in the sprawling barrens of Maine’s rural east, is the state’s official berry and one of its most significant exports.

From Seattle Times Feb. 13, 2023

The mass die-out allowed the sea urchin population to explode, and in 2021, satellite imagery showed that 95 percent of California’s kelp forests had been destroyed and replaced by carpets of sickly sea urchin barrens.

From New York Times Dec. 5, 2022

On the fifth day, I knew I was doomed to wander in endless barrens till I died.

From "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training