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 sterile, fruitless, impotent, infertile, unfruitfulRelated Words altered, desexed, neutered, sterilized; castrated, emasculated, gelded; spayed; unproductiveNear Antonyms fecund, luxuriant, productive, prolific; enriched, fertilized, rich; impregnated, pregnant; potent; bearing, producing, yielding; blooming, bursting, flourishing, swarming, teemingAntonyms fat, fertile, fruitful

3 producing no results that line of investigation proved barren, so the police tried other avenues Synonyms abortive, futile, bootless, empty, fruitless, ineffective, ineffectual, inefficacious, otiose, profitless, unavailing, unproductive, unprofitable, unsuccessful, useless, vainRelated Words hollow, idle, meaningless, pointless, valueless, worthless; hopeless, impossible, lost, no-win, unattainable; inadequate, insufficient, lacking, wanting; counterproductiveNear Antonyms meaningful, worthwhile; adequate, sufficient; applicable, feasible, functional, practicable, practical, realizable, usable (also useable), workableAntonyms 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, devoid, bereft, destitute, voidRelated Words blank, empty, innocent, stark, vacant, wanting; deficient, fragmental, fragmentary, incomplete, insufficient, partial, short; absent, missingNear 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, throngingAntonyms filled, flush, fraught, full, replete, rife