Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Synonyms
Nearby Words

barren

 - 6 dictionary results
Barren at Amazon
Low Prices on Barren Free 2-Day Shipping w/ Amazon Prime
www.Amazon.com/Books

bar⋅ren

  [bar-uhn]
Use barren in a Sentence
–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.
6. destitute; bereft; lacking (usually fol. by of): barren of tender feelings.
–noun
7. Usually, barrens. level or slightly rolling land, usually with a sandy soil and few trees, and relatively infertile.
Origin:
1200–50; ME bareyn(e), barayn(e) < AF barai(gn)e, OF brahaigne (F bréhaigne (of animals) sterile), akin to Sp breña scrubby, uncultivated ground, Upper It barena land along a lagoon covered by high water; appar < Celtic, cf. Welsh braenar, Ir branar fallow land, but derivational details unclear

Related forms:
bar⋅ren⋅ly, adverb
bar⋅ren⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. childless, unprolific, infertile. 2. infertile, depleted, waste. See bare 1 . 5. ineffectual, ineffective.

Antonyms:
1–6. fertile.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To barren
Barren at Amazon
Low Prices on Barren Free 2-Day Shipping w/ Amazon Prime
www.Amazon.com/Books
bar·ren   (bār'ən)   
adj.  

    1. Not producing offspring.

    2. Incapable of producing offspring.

  2. Lacking vegetation, especially useful vegetation.

  3. Unproductive of results or gains; unprofitable: barren efforts. See Synonyms at futile.

  4. Devoid of something specified: writing barren of insight. See Synonyms at empty.

  5. Lacking in liveliness or interest.

n.  A tract of unproductive land, often with a scrubby growth of trees. Often used in the plural.

[Middle English barreine, from Old French brahaigne, perhaps of Germanic origin.]
bar'ren·ly adv., bar'ren·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

barren 
c.1300, from O.Fr. baraigne "barren" (12c.), perhaps originally brahain, of obscure derivation, perhaps from a Gmc. language. Originally used of women in England, of land in France.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: bar·ren
Pronunciation: 'bar-&n
Function: adjective
: incapable of producing offspring —used especially of females or matings —bar·ren·ness /-&n-n&s/ noun
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

barren bar·ren (bār'ən)
adj.

  1. Not producing offspring.

  2. Incapable of producing offspring.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Bible Dictionary

Barren

For a woman to be barren was accounted a severe punishment among the Jews (Gen. 16:2; 30:1-23; 1 Sam. 1:6, 27; Isa. 47:9; 49:21; Luke 1:25). Instances of barrenness are noticed (Gen. 11:30; 25:21; 29:31; Judg. 13:2, 3; Luke 1:7, 36).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
Cite This Source
Search another word or see barren on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way