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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sterile
not able to produce fruit or offspring
the pear tree appears to be barren
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in unsuccessful
producing no results
that line of investigation proved barren, so the police tried other avenues
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in desert
land that is uninhabited or not fit for crops
lived out in the barrens where it was impossible to grow anything
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Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of barren
Scott Kramer,
Forbes.com,
21 June 2026
The missile flew northeast and then banked and began flying in loops for hours over the barren, frozen landscape.
—
Geoff Brumfiel,
NPR,
18 June 2026
Videos posted on Facebook by the Radical Reform Movement showed a small group of protesters milling around a barrier set up on a two-lane road running through a barren landscape on a bright sunny day.
—
ABC News,
17 June 2026
Among its most significant findings was evidence that solar storms can dramatically accelerate the loss of atmospheric gases, helping explain how Mars evolved from a potentially habitable world into the cold, barren planet seen today.
—
Sharmila Kuthunur,
Space.com,
17 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for barren
Adjective
Then there are the many desert-style courses in Scottsdale that are just plain fun – surrounded by mountains, the deep green fairways are often framed by the barren desert for a visually spectacular look.
—
Scott Kramer,
Forbes.com,
21 June 2026
The missile flew northeast and then banked and began flying in loops for hours over the barren, frozen landscape.
—
Geoff Brumfiel,
NPR,
18 June 2026
Videos posted on Facebook by the Radical Reform Movement showed a small group of protesters milling around a barrier set up on a two-lane road running through a barren landscape on a bright sunny day.
—
ABC News,
17 June 2026
Among its most significant findings was evidence that solar storms can dramatically accelerate the loss of atmospheric gases, helping explain how Mars evolved from a potentially habitable world into the cold, barren planet seen today.
—
Sharmila Kuthunur,
Space.com,
17 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for barren
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barren
Adjective
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Wilderness Little Kulala is about a 45-minute drive outside the park, located in a seemingly desolate rocky plain with harsh, jagged mountains interspersed throughout the flatlands.
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Most of the women disappeared between 2000 and 2010, and most of their remains were found on a desolate parkway not far from Long Island’s Gilgo Beach, some 50 miles (80 kilometers) from Manhattan.
Adjective
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Designer Lauren Saab chooses White Dove for a softness that never feels sterile or flat.
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Talc litigation also shows why juries do not evaluate causation in a sterile scientific vacuum.
Adjective
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More than a decade ago, her association sought the same change at the federal level and was unsuccessful — opposed at the time by Wine Institute.
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The city had taken it over, but several attempts at renovation were unsuccessful, until Alan Leventhal, chief executive of Beacon Capital Partners, happened to see the building and envisioned it as a great hotel.
Adjective
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In a show mostly devoid of explicit messages, the sentiment surprised me.
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Players take on the role of a Ditto capable of mimicking its human trainer, and the Pokémon is thrown into a world devoid of humans.
Noun
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Every year, about 90% of Central Oregon’s Deschutes River disappears into networks of canals and pipes traversing high desert.
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Extreme fire conditions were expected in Utah on Friday, with wind gusting up to 50 mph and low humidity across the southwest desert and central and southern mountains, including the area of the Cottonwood fire.
Adjective
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South Africa has a history of xenophobic violence as migrants from poor nations like Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi generally end up settling in impoverished communities in South Africa where unemployment and frustrations are high.
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Dreesen moved to Los Angeles, living on $1 a day and hitchhiking to The Comedy Store, begging for a set and bonding with other impoverished comedians.
Adjective
-
Uso’s conquest proved to be futile.
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Some days that hope can seem futile.
Adjective
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And since the Lightning have regularly been void of a first-round pick, they’re used to spending a lot of time waiting to make their selections.
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The void being filled is not a very large one, either, Schaefer said, noting that only 2 percent of the flying public chose Spirit.
Cite this Entry
“Barren.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barren. Accessed 29 Jun. 2026.
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