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
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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
Ron Hasse, Oc Register, 19 Sep. 2025
When the Plainfield Police Department responded to an animal cruelty call in April 2023, officers found two emaciated dogs in barren crates.
—Ryan Murphy, IndyStar, 18 Sep. 2025
Ordinary People is just a movie, but it is infused with life even at its most barren and miserable.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2025
One of vultures in a barren tree.
—Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for barren
Adjective
At the time, only a handful of the university’s buildings were completed and the barren campus lacked landscaping.
—Ron Hasse, Oc Register, 19 Sep. 2025
When the Plainfield Police Department responded to an animal cruelty call in April 2023, officers found two emaciated dogs in barren crates.
—Ryan Murphy, IndyStar, 18 Sep. 2025
Ordinary People is just a movie, but it is infused with life even at its most barren and miserable.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2025
One of vultures in a barren tree.
—Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for barren
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barren
Adjective
-
To find the killer, Sherlock Holmes and Watson will have to brave desolate moors before a family curse dooms the newest heirs.—
Meredith G. White,
AZCentral.com,
1 Oct. 2025
-
With its primary tenant away, the pro stadium here in central Japan was desolate outside.—
Brad Lefton,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Easy Spaces for Gathering Plenty of pattern and texture prevent the mostly white kitchen from feeling cold or sterile.—
Betsy Cribb Watson,
Southern Living,
7 Oct. 2025
-
While locations like a solar panel farm in the Australian outback fit the bill for near-future ground war, the result mostly feels sterile, amounting to a bunch of empty pathways bathed in stark daylight.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The pose Harris struck and held through her unsuccessful 2024 campaign for the White House is called the good soldier.—
Jeremy Lott,
The Washington Examiner,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Now, after years of mostly unsuccessful efforts to eliminate windows from cabins, one luxury jet maker appears to be on the verge of doing just that.—
Mack DeGeurin,
Popular Science,
2 Oct. 2025
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
-
In addition, strong winds over desert areas could result in briefly lowered visibilities to well under a mile at times in blowing dust or blowing sand.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
3 Oct. 2025
-
His father performed cowboy songs in both English and Spanish to guests enjoying a hayride or picnic in the desert.—
Douglas C. Towne,
AZCentral.com,
3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
But the Shah’s failure to provide support to the peasants led to their farms failing, and sent waves of impoverished migrants to Tehran and other Iranian cities—many of whom would later fuel the 1979 revolution.—
Nik Kowsar,
Time,
2 Oct. 2025
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Her existence in the vibrant capital city of Sepphoris brings into questions some of our traditional assumptions of Mary as an impoverished illiterate from a backwater rural village with no exposure to Greco-Roman culture.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The rest of the industry wants to emulate this success, but as many editors know, chasing a trend can be a futile endeavor.—
Rebecca Ackermann,
The Atlantic,
5 Oct. 2025
-
At least one company ended the workday early, figuring any attempts to get employees back on track would be futile.—
Kristen Parisi,
Fortune,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Between the atoms was void, and all things that existed were atoms.—
Ethan Siegel,
Big Think,
30 Sep. 2025
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Into this relative void steps Paul Thomas Anderson, whose films have been nominated for 28 Academy Awards over the course of his career.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
26 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Barren.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barren. Accessed 10 Oct. 2025.
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