barren
not producing or incapable of producing offspring; sterile: a barren woman.
unproductive; unfruitful: barren land.
without capacity to interest or attract: a barren period in American architecture.
mentally unproductive; dull; stupid.
not producing results; fruitless: a barren effort.
destitute; bereft; lacking (usually followed by of): barren of tender feelings.
Usually barrens. level or slightly rolling land, usually with a sandy soil and few trees, and relatively infertile.
Origin of barren
1synonym study For barren
Other words for barren
1 | childless, unprolific, infertile |
2 | infertile, depleted, waste |
5 | ineffectual, ineffective |
Opposites for barren
Other words from barren
- bar·ren·ly, adverb
- bar·ren·ness, noun
- un·bar·ren, adjective
- un·bar·ren·ly, adverb
- un·bar·ren·ness, noun
Words that may be confused with barren
Words Nearby barren
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use barren in a sentence
Temperatures across the barren, windy highlands routinely dip below –30° Celsius, and the grass that typically sustains the rabbitlike mammals becomes dry and brittle.
Pikas survive winter using a slower metabolism and, at times, yak poop | Jonathan Lambert | July 19, 2021 | Science NewsWith the help of nonprofit groups, the community planted hundreds of trees, turning some of the barren hillsides green.
Mixing trees and crops can help both farmers and the climate | Jonathan Lambert | July 14, 2021 | Science NewsFor example, if you select a grey leaning toward a blue hue you might get prospective buyers to question the brightness of a space as blue tones are often found to be “cold” or barren.
Tips to properly prep your home to sell for the most | Justin Noble | June 24, 2021 | Washington BladeIt was once thought the solar system was probably a barren wasteland apart from Earth.
The best places to find extraterrestrial life in our solar system, ranked | Neel V. Patel | June 16, 2021 | MIT Technology ReviewIn the present, out there in Australia’s dinosaur country, you might find yourself staring across a barren plain imagining what other secrets this world of long-lost giants will reveal.
Lizard of Oz: Australia’s Biggest Dinosaur Discovered | Scott Hocknull and Rochelle Lawrence, The Conversation | June 7, 2021 | The Daily Beast
First, though, he has to be shocked into recognizing the barren waste of his spiritual life – by spirits.
He'd kept the few offices at the front of the bungalow, now oddly barren.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days | David Freeman | December 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWithout it in the atmosphere, the Earth would be a barren, frozen wasteland.
Ibrahim Hijazi walked me through his barren house, emptied ahead of the demolition.
In Jerusalem Home Demolitions, the Biblical Justice of Revenge | Creede Newton | November 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSome parts were arid, nearly barren, others green and fertile.
‘The Harness Maker’s Dream:’ The Unlikely Ranch King of Texas | Nick Kotz | September 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTNothing, however, can save us but a union, which would turn our barren hills into fruitful valleys.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun; | VariousThe cost of extraction varies in different localities, depending mainly on the mass of barren rock to be encountered and removed.
Asbestos | Robert H. JonesThere the quantity of barren overlying rock and earth is enormous, and detracts immensely from the value of the mines.
Asbestos | Robert H. JonesThe coast is sandy, and from M. Peron's description, barren and unprofitable.
After a barren discussion she held out her hand, large and generous like herself.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol | William J. Locke
British Dictionary definitions for barren
/ (ˈbærən) /
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
Origin of barren
1Derived forms of barren
- barrenly, adverb
- barrenness, noun
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
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