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View synonyms for

barren

[ bar-uhn ]

adjective

  1. not producing or incapable of producing offspring; sterile:

    a barren woman.

    Synonyms: , ,

    Antonyms:

  2. unproductive; unfruitful:

    barren land.

    Synonyms: ,

    Antonyms:

  3. without capacity to interest or attract:

    a barren period in American architecture.

    Antonyms:

  4. mentally unproductive; dull; stupid.

    Antonyms:

  5. not producing results; fruitless:

    a barren effort.

    Synonyms: ,

    Antonyms:

  6. destitute; bereft; lacking (usually followed by of ):

    barren of tender feelings.

    Antonyms:



noun

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

barren

/ ˈæə /

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
“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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Derived Forms

  • ˈԲԱ, noun
  • ˈԱ, adverb
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Other yvlog Forms

  • ۱· adverb
  • ۱·Ա noun
  • ܲ·۱ adjective
  • un·۱· adverb
  • un·۱·Ա noun
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yvlog History and Origins

Origin of barren1

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English barayn(e), bareyn(e), from Anglo-French barai(gn)e, Old French brahaigne ( French é󲹾Ա “sterile”), akin to Spanish ñ “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 æ, Old High German bar ( bare 1( def ) )
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yvlog History and Origins

Origin of barren1

C13: from Old French brahain , of uncertain origin
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Synonym Study

See bare 1.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Heard Island, though, is barren, icy and completely uninhabited - home to Australia's largest and only active volcano, Big Ben, and mostly covered by glaciers.

From

These extremely remote islands about 1,000 miles north of Antarctica consist mostly of barren tundra.

From

We tend to think of the moon as little more than a barren rock, but it’s very, very dusty.

From

Standing in the barren living room of an unfurnished Hollywood rental, my husband and I should have collapsed in relief.

From

The roads are long and lonely, cutting through barren hills and desert.

From

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