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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sterile
not able to produce fruit or offspring
the pear tree appears to be barren
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in unsuccessful
producing no results
that line of investigation proved barren, so the police tried other avenues
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
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Recent Examples of barren
Avery Schuyler Nunn, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Apr. 2025
There might be a butterfly flittering about barren aspen trunks.
—Ray Mark Rinaldi, Denver Post, 28 Apr. 2025
Then, trace a line up from Mintaka and slightly to the right, to find Betelgeuse.
4 - Mars, Castor and Pollux.
Space agencies and private companies alike have their sights set on exploring the secrets of the Red Planet, with a view to one day putting human boots on its barren surface.
—Anthony Wood, Space.com, 26 Apr. 2025
The wood provides a welcome source of nutrients and shelter on the barren deep-sea landscape.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for barren
Adjective
Without predators to keep them in check, says Laura Rogers-Bennett, a senior environmental scientist at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, urchins devour the base of kelp and can turn towering forests into barren seascapes within a matter of seasons.
—Avery Schuyler Nunn, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Apr. 2025
There might be a butterfly flittering about barren aspen trunks.
—Ray Mark Rinaldi, Denver Post, 28 Apr. 2025
Then, trace a line up from Mintaka and slightly to the right, to find Betelgeuse.
4 - Mars, Castor and Pollux.
Space agencies and private companies alike have their sights set on exploring the secrets of the Red Planet, with a view to one day putting human boots on its barren surface.
—Anthony Wood, Space.com, 26 Apr. 2025
The wood provides a welcome source of nutrients and shelter on the barren deep-sea landscape.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for barren
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barren
Adjective
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A lot of people have this idea of the north as being cold and desolate, and maybe people, once upon a time, lived up there, but don't anymore.—
Dana Feldman,
Forbes.com,
22 Apr. 2025
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The Memphis rapper began the show with dramatics, rising on a giant platform with her back to the audience as a screen behind her projected the image of a desolate street.—
John Lonsdale,
Rolling Stone,
12 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The idea was to drive down the mosquito population because eggs produced by a female after a romp with a sterile male don’t hatch.—
Lila Seidman,
Los Angeles Times,
6 May 2025
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But the overall health system in Chad is fragile, and many Chadian women don't have access to a safe and sterile place to deliver.—
Ari Daniel,
NPR,
5 May 2025
Adjective
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Later that month, Kalyn Free, an attorney from Oklahoma who was unsuccessful in her bid for a vice chair position, filed a complaint alleging that the DNC improperly merged two separate questions into a single vote.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 May 2025
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Several attempts to establish at least a partial ceasefire have been unsuccessful.—
DASHA LITVINOVA,
Chicago Tribune,
14 May 2025
Adjective
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Banking has become functionally correct but emotionally devoid, with the industry swimming in a sea of sameness.—
Michael Abbott,
Forbes,
19 Mar. 2025
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Delle, devoid for so long from its intrinsic need for social interaction might be filling in the gaps by talking to himself.—
Mack DeGeurin,
Popular Science,
14 Feb. 2023
Noun
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This film, set in 1956, hops between the Palazzo Korda, its protagonist’s cavernous mansion, and different quarters of Modern Greater Independent Phoenicia, a vague Middle Eastern nation that’s depicted as an array of deserts, warring factions, and colonial outposts.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
18 May 2025
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By Kate Sullivan, Bloomberg Donald Trump beamed from the passenger seat of a golf cart as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman took the wheel and personally whisked the US president to a desert oasis dinner in an ancient city.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
16 May 2025
Adjective
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Infectious disease experts note that the vitamin is most useful in impoverished countries where children are significantly malnourished.—
Katherine Dillinger,
CNN Money,
1 May 2025
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In the meantime, the new administrators warn that the Kennedy Center is impoverished, that the facility has become shoddy and that some of its programming ill serves the American ideal.—
Mark Swed,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Though their efforts were futile, their remains provide remarkable insight into the doomed city’s final moments.—
Eli Wizevich,
Smithsonian Magazine,
13 May 2025
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Through the two-hour journey that makes up the Thunderbolt’s origin story, the audience experiences the way these skilled fighters continue butting heads over the most futile issues.—
Malik Peay,
Essence,
8 May 2025
Adjective
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Despite the Dolphins rookies’ apparent willingness to step up in 2025, the truth is the team has a leadership void with the departures of defensive tackle Calais Campbell and offensive tackle Terron Armstead.—
C. Isaiah Smalls II,
Miami Herald,
7 May 2025
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The president claimed this week that pardons issued by former President Biden should be void because they were signed by autopen.—
Alex Gangitano,
The Hill,
19 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Barren.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barren. Accessed 21 May. 2025.
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