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
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of barren
Keith Cooper, Space.com, 5 Apr. 2026
Available in a multitude of shapes, sizes, and colors, shrubs add eye-catching dimension and character to barren areas.
—Sj McShane, Martha Stewart, 5 Apr. 2026
In some places, fish catches declined precipitously in medium depths, which Joye attributes to nutritionally barren conditions.
—Jeffrey Marlow, New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2026
This man did not get famous and get skinty for his DMs to be barren.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 2 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for barren
Adjective
Its depiction of Earth's blue marble rising in the distance above the barren lunar surface illustrated how fragile our world really is amidst the vastness of space, and how, despite our differences, all of us share one planet.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 5 Apr. 2026
Available in a multitude of shapes, sizes, and colors, shrubs add eye-catching dimension and character to barren areas.
—Sj McShane, Martha Stewart, 5 Apr. 2026
In some places, fish catches declined precipitously in medium depths, which Joye attributes to nutritionally barren conditions.
—Jeffrey Marlow, New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2026
This man did not get famous and get skinty for his DMs to be barren.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 2 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for barren
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barren
Adjective
-
And that’s become a background topic this week, how a once-sumptuous secondary ticket market has become desolate.—
Gabriel Burns,
AJC.com,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Eastern New Mexico — dry, desolate — looks and feels very much like an appendage of West Texas.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Navarro says that when every piece of décor is in matching pairs, the space can feel forced, overly staged, and even a little sterile.—
Wendy Rose Gould,
Martha Stewart,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Select vines that are sterile or have easy-to-remove seed pods.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Bailey’s largest individual donor was northwest suburban business owner Gary Rabine, who was also an unsuccessful rival for the nomination four years ago.—
Rick Pearson,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Garth points to the stress of unsuccessful in-vitro fertilization (IVF).—
Ralphie Aversa,
USA Today,
16 Apr. 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 48 hours in the hot, dusty Southern California desert, Camilo Losada just wanted to call his mom, get back into his friend's 1998 Toyota 4Runner and drive home.—
Matthew Rodriguez,
CBS News,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Bieber stood beside her in a coordinating casual look as the duo enjoyed the desert performances.—
Danielle Minnetian,
FOXNews.com,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
As Rose’s impoverished yet imperious mother Ruth, Parson’s dry deliveries offer great comic ballast to this ship of fools.—
Frank Rizzo,
Variety,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Jack grew up in an impoverished single-parent household and David is from a wealthy Texan family.—
Cressida Leyshon,
New Yorker,
12 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Tackling plant problems at the wrong time in a plant’s or insect’s life cycle can be futile and environmentally harmful.—
Beth Botts,
Chicago Tribune,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Ultimately, the Yanks would spend 2 hours and 45 minutes on the court, meaning 2023 champion Tiafoe, who had prevailed in two previous marathons, wound up whacking balls for eight-plus hours in his ultimately futile bid for reach a fourth consecutive final here.—
Dale Robertson,
Houston Chronicle,
4 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Technically, the court decided all previous rulings after 2017 are void.—
Rebecca Noel,
Charlotte Observer,
8 Apr. 2026
-
According to Italian newspaper Il Sole, a Rome court found that the clauses allowing Netflix to change prices and terms between 2017 and January 2024 without providing a valid reason in the contract, are void.—
Will McCurdy,
PC Magazine,
4 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Barren.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barren. Accessed 18 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
