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barren
[ bar-uhn ]
adjective
- not producing or incapable of producing offspring; sterile:
a barren woman.
Synonyms: unprolific, childless, infertile
Antonyms: fertile
- unproductive; unfruitful:
barren land.
Antonyms: fertile
- without capacity to interest or attract:
a barren period in American architecture.
Antonyms: fertile
- mentally unproductive; dull; stupid.
Antonyms: fertile
- not producing results; fruitless:
a barren effort.
Synonyms: ineffective, ineffectual
Antonyms: fertile
- destitute; bereft; lacking (usually followed by of ):
barren of tender feelings.
Antonyms: fertile
noun
- Usually barrens. level or slightly rolling land, usually with a sandy soil and few trees, and relatively infertile.
barren
/ ˈbærən /
adjective
- 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
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Derived Forms
- ˈbarrenness, noun
- ˈbarrenly, adverb
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Other Words From
- barren·ly adverb
- barren·ness noun
- un·barren adjective
- un·barren·ly adverb
- un·barren·ness noun
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Word History and Origins
Origin of barren1
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Word History and Origins
Origin of barren1
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Synonym Study
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Example Sentences
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.
Without 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.
Some parts were arid, nearly barren, others green and fertile.
Nothing, however, can save us but a union, which would turn our barren hills into fruitful valleys.
The cost of extraction varies in different localities, depending mainly on the mass of barren rock to be encountered and removed.
There the quantity of barren overlying rock and earth is enormous, and detracts immensely from the value of the mines.
The 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.
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