barren
1 of 2adjective
bar·ren ˈber-ən 
ˈba-rən
1
: not reproducing: such as
a
: incapable of producing offspring —used especially of females or matings
barren women
b
: not yet or not recently pregnant
c
of plants : habitually failing to fruit
barren apple trees
2
: not productive: such as
a
: producing little or no vegetation : desolate
barren deserts
b
: producing inferior crops
barren soil
c
: unproductive of results or gain : fruitless
a barren scheme
3
: devoid, lacking —used with of
barren of excitement
4
: lacking interest or charm
a barren routine
5
: lacking inspiration or ideas
a barren mind
barrenly adverb
barrenness
ˈber-ə(n)-nəs
noun ˈba-rə(n)-
barren
2 of 2noun
1
barrens plural, geography : an extent of usually level land having an inferior growth of trees or little vegetation
2
: a tract of barren land
Synonyms
Adjective
- bony
- boney
- dead
- desolate
- hardscrabble
- impoverished
- infertile
- poor
- stark
- unfertile
- unproductive
- waste
Noun
- desert
- desolation
- heath
- no-man's-land
- waste
- wasteland
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Adjective Few creatures can thrive on these barren mountaintops. The book was good, but I found the barren lives of the characters depressing. Noun lived out in the barrens where it was impossible to grow anything
Recent Examples on the Web
Erik Kain, Forbes, 13 May 2022 Some quick notes: Come ready to play, as motion-capture stages can be barren. Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 1 Aug. 2022 Roughly two weeks into the 2022 edition of NBA free agency, the market is already barren. Bryan Toporek, Forbes, 12 July 2022 The parking lot was barren, as if nothing had happened. Kyle Casey Chu, Vogue, 1 July 2022 The site where the Champlain Towers South condominium once stood in Surfside has been barren for the better part of a year. Natalia Galicza, Sun Sentinel, 24 June 2022 Over the past four years, the roadster has traveled nearly 2 billion miles and completed about 2.6 loops around the sun, mostly through a barren, empty vacuum, according to the website. Jackie Wattles, CNN, 8 Feb. 2022 For years, the space was barren, décor-wise—mattress on the ground, no table. Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 27 Sep. 2021 Meanwhile, some supermarkets have barren shelves due to the farmers also targeting distribution centers earlier this month. Fox News, 10 July 2022 See More
Adjective
Xbox is in deep trouble, we are told, because the Xbox release landscape is now so barren compared to Sony’s 2022. Erik Kain, Forbes, 13 May 2022 Some quick notes: Come ready to play, as motion-capture stages can be barren. Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 1 Aug. 2022 Roughly two weeks into the 2022 edition of NBA free agency, the market is already barren. Bryan Toporek, Forbes, 12 July 2022 The parking lot was barren, as if nothing had happened. Kyle Casey Chu, Vogue, 1 July 2022 The site where the Champlain Towers South condominium once stood in Surfside has been barren for the better part of a year. Natalia Galicza, Sun Sentinel, 24 June 2022 Over the past four years, the roadster has traveled nearly 2 billion miles and completed about 2.6 loops around the sun, mostly through a barren, empty vacuum, according to the website. Jackie Wattles, CNN, 8 Feb. 2022 For years, the space was barren, décor-wise—mattress on the ground, no table. Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 27 Sep. 2021 Meanwhile, some supermarkets have barren shelves due to the farmers also targeting distribution centers earlier this month. Fox News, 10 July 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Adjective
Middle English bareine, from Anglo-French barain, perhaps of Celtic origin; akin to Middle Welsh brynar fallow land
Noun
noun derivative of barren entry 1
First Known Use
Adjective
13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Noun
1651, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing barren
Kids Definition
barren
adjective
bar·ren ˈber-ən
1
: unable to produce seed, fruit, or young
barren plants
2
: growing only poor or few plants
barren soil
Medical Definition
barren
adjective
bar·ren ˈbar-ən
: incapable of producing offspring —used especially of females or matings
barren 1 of 2
adjective
1
as in desolate
producing inferior or only a small amount of vegetation if tobacco fields aren't allowed to lie idle once every few years, they will become barren Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- desolate
- impoverished
- bleak
- waste
- poor
- unfertile
- infertile
- desert
- unproductive
- stark
- bony
- hardscrabble
- dry
- lifeless
- inhospitable
- dead
- boney
- exhausted
- thirsty
- arid
- drained
- depleted
- reduced
- spent
- uncultivable
- diminished
- sere
- waterless
- consumed
- debilitated
- droughty
- rainless
- expended
- parched
- bankrupted
- dried-up
- enfeebled
- sunbaked
- untillable
- used up
- lessened
- dehydrated
- baked
- sear
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- fertile
- fruitful
- productive
- rich
- lush
- luxuriant
- arable
- green
- verdant
- tillable
- sylvan
2
as in sterile
not able to produce fruit or offspring the pear tree appears to be barren Synonyms & Similar Words
- sterile
- sterilized
- unfruitful
- altered
- infertile
- fruitless
- impotent
- emasculated
- neutered
- castrated
- desexed
- unproductive
- gelded
- spayed
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- fertile
- fruitful
- productive
- fat
- rich
- prolific
- fecund
- luxuriant
- pregnant
- enriched
- potent
- impregnated
- bearing
- fertilized
- producing
- flourishing
- bursting
- yielding
- blooming
- teeming
- swarming
3
as in futile
producing no results that line of investigation proved barren, so the police tried other avenues Synonyms & Similar Words
- futile
- unsuccessful
- useless
- unprofitable
- unproductive
- fruitless
- empty
- profitless
- ineffectual
- ineffective
- vain
- worthless
- unavailing
- in vain
- abortive
- hollow
- insufficient
- impossible
- meaningless
- inadequate
- valueless
- bootless
- lost
- inefficacious
- pointless
- hopeless
- otiose
- not worth the candle
- no dice
- of no avail
- idle
- lacking
- unattainable
- counterproductive
- no-win
- wanting
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- fruitful
- successful
- profitable
- productive
- effective
- efficient
- virtuous
- deadly
- potent
- worthwhile
- meaningful
- adequate
- sufficient
- effectual
- efficacious
- practical
- feasible
- usable
- functional
- workable
- applicable
- practicable
- useable
- realizable
4
as in devoid
utterly lacking in something needed, wanted, or expected their proposal for revitalizing the downtown business district is utterly barren of useful ideas Synonyms & Similar Words
- devoid
- void
- empty
- destitute
- bankrupt
- bereft
- bare
- blank
- vacant
- incomplete
- insufficient
- deficient
- stark
- absent
- fragmentary
- partial
- short
- fragmental
- wanting
- missing
- innocent
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- fraught
- filled
- rife
- full
- replete
- flush
- crowded
- provided
- saturated
- furnished
- brimming
- supplied
- bursting
- packed
- bulging
- thick
- fat
- crammed
- stuffed
- teeming
- loaded
- jammed
- chockful
- swarming
- abounding
- jam-packed
- chock-full
- thronging
barren
2 of 2noun
as in desert
land that is uninhabited or not fit for crops lived out in the barrens where it was impossible to grow anything Synonyms & Similar Words
- desert
- wasteland
- wilderness
- desolation
- heath
- waste
- wild
- bush
- no-man's-land
- badland
- open
- brush
- dust bowl
- open air
- outdoors
- out-of-doors
- nature
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of barren are bald, bare, naked, and nude. While all these words mean "deprived of naturally or conventionally appropriate covering," barren often suggests aridity or impoverishment or sterility.
barren plains
The synonyms bald and barren are sometimes interchangeable, but bald implies actual or seeming absence of natural covering and may suggest a conspicuous bareness.
a bald mountain peak
The words bare and barren are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, bare implies the removal of what is additional, superfluous, ornamental, or dispensable.
an apartment with bare walls
While in some cases nearly identical to barren, naked suggests absence of protective or ornamental covering but may imply a state of nature, of destitution, or of defenselessness.
poor half-naked children
The words nude and barren can be used in similar contexts, but nude applies especially to the unclothed human figure.
a nude model posing for art students