Synonyms

BARRENNESS

[bar-uhn]

bar·ren

[bar-uhn]
adjective
1.
not producing or incapable of producing offspring; sterile: a barren woman.
2.
unproductive; unfruitful: barren land.
3.
without capacity to interest or attract: a barren period in American architecture.
4.
mentally unproductive; dull; stupid.
5.
not producing results; fruitless: a barren effort.
EXPAND
6.
destitute; bereft; lacking (usually followed by of): barren of tender feelings.
COLLAPSE
noun
7.
Usually, barrens. level or slightly rolling land, usually with a sandy soil and few trees, and relatively infertile.

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Barrenness is always a great word to know.
So is gobo. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

Origin:
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

bar·ren·ly, adverb
bar·ren·ness, noun
un·bar·ren, adjective
un·bar·ren·ly, adverb
un·bar·ren·ness, noun

barren, baron, baronet.


1. childless, unprolific, infertile. 2. infertile, depleted, waste. See bare1. 5. ineffectual, ineffective.


1–6. fertile.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To BARRENNESS
Collins
World English Dictionary
barren (ˈbærən)
 
adj
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
 
[C13: from Old French brahain, of uncertain origin]
 
'barrenly
 
adv
 
'barrenness
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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