Entry Word: barren

Function: adjective

Meaning: 1 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 impoverished, infertile, poor, stark, unproductive, waste

Related Words bleak, dead, desolate, inhospitable, lifeless; bankrupted, consumed, debilitated, depleted, diminished, drained, dried up, enfeebled, exhausted, expended, lessened, reduced, spent, used up; arid, desert, dry

Near Antonyms arable, tillable; green, verdant

Antonyms fertile, fruitful, lush, luxuriant, productive, rich

2 not able to produce fruit or offspring <the pear tree appears to be barren> — see sterile 1