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
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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
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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
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
Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 12 Jan. 2026
In the 19th century, guano miners razed the place, removing most of the topsoil and leaving behind barren rock.
—Susan Casey, Travel + Leisure, 10 Jan. 2026
The next two teams on this list find themselves in eerily similar situations, from barren rosters to enviable cap space to hope at the quarterback position.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 10 Jan. 2026
The barren ground was in need of moisture as high fire danger threatened.
—Alan Gionet, CBS News, 8 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for barren
Adjective
The Bruins’ cornucopia of goals from Saturday turned into a barren wasteland of squandered opportunities on Sunday.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 12 Jan. 2026
In the 19th century, guano miners razed the place, removing most of the topsoil and leaving behind barren rock.
—Susan Casey, Travel + Leisure, 10 Jan. 2026
The next two teams on this list find themselves in eerily similar situations, from barren rosters to enviable cap space to hope at the quarterback position.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 10 Jan. 2026
The barren ground was in need of moisture as high fire danger threatened.
—Alan Gionet, CBS News, 8 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for barren
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barren
Adjective
-
Gibney illustrates that state of waiting, of staving off what at that time appears to be the inevitable, with the famous sequence from Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal, in which Max von Sydow’s medieval knight plays chess with Death on a desolate beach.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
25 Jan. 2026
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Tautly written, this first novel by a former criminal lawyer who spent 17 years in the Arctic is a hard look at the desolate lives of people resigned to life in the bleak far north.—
Sandra Dallas,
Denver Post,
24 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Musicals and medicine seem like opposite ends of the spectrum — one is about spotlight and song, the other about science and sterile environments.—
Julie Ruth Owen,
The Orlando Sentinel,
31 Jan. 2026
-
That structure was built in the 1950s and feels sterile and outdated.—
Bebe Hodges,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
These therapies are not universally successful, of course, but can often save lives and defeat cancers where other methods are unsuccessful.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Symptoms include cravings, unsuccessful quit attempts, tolerance and withdrawal.—
Melissa Rudy,
FOXNews.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Banking has become functionally correct but emotionally devoid, with the industry swimming in a sea of sameness.—
Michael Abbott,
Forbes,
19 Mar. 2025
-
That devoid ingredient hindered things exponentially.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
15 Feb. 2024
Noun
-
After vacations in Hawaii, Italy and then Thailand, some season 3 cast members hoped the location of the upcoming season might be somewhere snowy, while others wished for a desert.—
Amarachi Orie,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026
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There are also on-demand classes for desert bathing, sound baths, boxing, and more for a $20 fee each.—
Asonta Benetti,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Surely my imagination was not so impoverished?—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
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They are fascinated by this impoverished district of docks and shabby warehouses, associated in the popular imagination with Asian sailors, white slavery, and cholera.—
Hari Kunzru,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The metallic sheets cannot stop the damage Echard seeks to impose on her canvases, much like those tinfoil hats that some use in confused, futile efforts to shield themselves from pernicious invisible forces.—
Theo Belci,
Artforum,
1 Feb. 2026
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But other professors, perhaps concluding that resistance is futile, are adjusting to the media their students grew up on.—
Rose Horowitch,
The Atlantic,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Additional entries received from any person after the first Entry received from that person will be void.—
AJC.com,
AJC.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
If Havenstein does decide to play again in 2026, he is set to become an unrestricted free agent with only a void year left on his contract.—
Adam Grosbard,
Oc Register,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Barren.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barren. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.
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