Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

Thesaurus

barren

adjective

Synonyms and Antonyms of barren

1 producing inferior or only a small amount of vegetation
  • If the fields aren't allowed to lie idle once every few years, they will become barren.
Synonyms of barren

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

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 of barren

arable, tillable

green, sylvan, verdant
Antonyms of barren

fertile, fruitful, lush, luxuriant, productive, rich
2 not able to produce fruit or offspring
  • The pear tree appears to be barren.
Synonyms of barren

fruitless, impotent, infertile, sterile, unfruitful
Words Related to barren

altered, desexed, neutered, sterilized

castrated, emasculated, gelded

spayed

unproductive
Near Antonyms of barren

fecund, luxuriant, productive, prolific

enriched, fertilized, rich

impregnated, pregnant

potent

bearing, producing, yielding

blooming, bursting, flourishing, swarming, teeming
Antonyms of barren

fat, fertile, fruitful
3 producing no results
  • That line of investigation proved barren, so the police tried other avenues.
Synonyms of barren

abortive, bootless, empty, fruitless, futile, ineffective, ineffectual, inefficacious, otiose, profitless, unavailing, unproductive, unprofitable, unsuccessful, useless, vain
Words Related to barren

hollow, idle, meaningless, pointless, valueless, worthless

hopeless, impossible, lost, no-win, unattainable

inadequate, insufficient, lacking, wanting

counterproductive
Phrases Synonymous with barren

in vain, no dice, not worth the candle, of no avail
Near Antonyms of barren

meaningful, worthwhile

adequate, sufficient

applicable, feasible, functional, practicable, practical, realizable, usable (also useable), workable
Antonyms of barren

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 of barren

bankrupt, bare, bereft, destitute, devoid, void
Words Related to barren

blank, empty, innocent, stark, vacant, wanting

deficient, fragmental, fragmentary, incomplete, insufficient, partial, short

absent, missing
Near Antonyms of barren

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 of barren

filled, flush, fraught, full, replete, rife

Synonym Discussion of barren

bare, naked, nude, bald, barren mean deprived of naturally or conventionally appropriate covering. bare implies the removal of what is additional, superfluous, ornamental, or dispensable.
    • an apartment with bare walls
naked suggests absence of protective or ornamental covering but may imply a state of nature, of destitution, or of defenselessness.
    • poor half-naked children
nude applies especially to the unclothed human figure.
    • a nude model posing for art students
bald implies actual or seeming absence of natural covering and may suggest a conspicuous bareness.
    • a bald mountain peak
barren often suggests aridity or impoverishment or sterility.
    • barren plains

barren

noun

Synonyms and Antonyms of barren

land that is uninhabited or not fit for crops
  • lived out in the barrens where it was impossible to grow anything
Synonyms of barren

desert, desolation, heath, no-man's-land, waste, wasteland
Words Related to barren

badland

brush, bush

dust bowl

open, open air, outdoors, out-of-doors

nature, wild, wilderness

Learn More about barren

  1. See words that rhyme with barren Dictionary: Definition of barren Medical Dictionary: Definition of barren Spanish Central: Translation of barren Nglish: Translation of barren for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of barren for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up barren? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games