barren

barren

adjective

Definition of BARREN

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 bony (also boney), dead, desolate, hardscrabble, impoverished, infertile, poor, stark, unfertile, unproductive, waste

Related Words bleak, inhospitable, lifeless; uncultivable, untillable; bankrupted, consumed, debilitated, depleted, diminished, drained, dried-up, enfeebled, exhausted, expended, lessened, reduced, spent, used up; arid, desert, droughty, dry, rainless, sere (also sear), thirsty, waterless; baked, dehydrated, parched, sunbaked

Near Antonyms arable, tillable; green, sylvan, verdant

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

2

not able to produce fruit or offspring <the pear tree appears to be barren>

Synonyms barren, fruitless, impotent, infertile, unfruitful

Related Words altered, desexed, neutered, sterilized; castrated, emasculated, gelded; spayed; unproductive

Near Antonyms fecund, luxuriant, productive, prolific; enriched, fertilized, rich; impregnated, pregnant; potent; bearing, producing, yielding; blooming, bursting, flourishing, swarming, teeming

Antonyms fat, fertile, fruitful

3

producing no results <that line of investigation proved barren, so the police tried other avenues>

Synonyms abortive, barren, bootless, empty, fruitless, ineffective, ineffectual, inefficacious, otiose, profitless, unavailing, unproductive, unprofitable, unsuccessful, useless, vain

Related Words hollow, idle, meaningless, pointless, valueless, worthless; hopeless, impossible, lost, no-win, unattainable; inadequate, insufficient, lacking, wanting; counterproductive

Near Antonyms meaningful, worthwhile; adequate, sufficient; applicable, feasible, functional, practicable, practical, realizable, usable (also useable), workable

Antonyms deadly, effective, effectual, efficacious, efficient, fruitful, potent, productive, profitable, successful, virtuous

4

utterly lacking in something needed, wanted, or expected <their proposal for revitalizing the downtown business district is utterly barren of useful ideas>

Synonyms bankrupt, bare, barren, bereft, destitute, void

Related Words blank, empty, innocent, stark, vacant, wanting; deficient, fragmental, fragmentary, incomplete, insufficient, partial, short; absent, missing

Near Antonyms furnished, provided, supplied; brimming, bulging, bursting, chock-full (or chockful), crammed, crowded, fat, jammed, jam-packed, loaded, packed, saturated, stuffed; abounding, swarming, teeming, thick, thronging

Antonyms filled, flush, fraught, full, replete, rife