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
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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
Thomas Schlachter, CNN Money, 23 May 2026
The summit is a barren ash field, gray and treeless, scoured by sulfuric gas and acidic rain that burns whatever tries to grow.
—Christopher Elliott, Forbes.com, 23 May 2026
Long barren roads are illuminated by the distant neon of attractions that no one ever visits.
—Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 22 May 2026
When the male guards flee, the captives emerge into a barren plain, and the girl, the last to survive, writes about her life.
—The Week Us, TheWeek, 20 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for barren
Adjective
The beer aisles in the surrounding supermarkets were barren, pubs were packed and the streets flooded.
—Thomas Schlachter, CNN Money, 23 May 2026
The summit is a barren ash field, gray and treeless, scoured by sulfuric gas and acidic rain that burns whatever tries to grow.
—Christopher Elliott, Forbes.com, 23 May 2026
Long barren roads are illuminated by the distant neon of attractions that no one ever visits.
—Sophie Monks Kaufman, IndieWire, 22 May 2026
When the male guards flee, the captives emerge into a barren plain, and the girl, the last to survive, writes about her life.
—The Week Us, TheWeek, 20 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for barren
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barren
Adjective
-
Buddy was hiding in the bushes on the side of a desolate highway when he was found by a good Samaritan and brought to a rescue.—
Maryanne Dell,
Oc Register,
30 May 2026
-
The bleak, desolate masterpiece from 1989’s Pretty Hate Machine was used to great effect in 1995’s Natural Born Killers, the first film soundtrack produced by Reznor.—
Al Shipley,
SPIN,
29 May 2026
Adjective
-
The result is a sterile carousel of clubs at the top.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
27 May 2026
-
Visitors can see Mission Control, where teams watch every Mars landing live, and the sterile labs where the next generation of spacecraft are being built.—
Michael Goldstein,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
Adjective
-
Japanese police trudged through deep mud on Thursday in another unsuccessful day searching for a missing Auburn University student, who vanished after an argument with family over artificial intelligence.—
David K. Li,
NBC news,
4 June 2026
-
Efforts to reach Bronstein for comment on Stone’s claims were unsuccessful Thursday.—
Martha Ross,
Mercury News,
4 June 2026
Adjective
-
The dirt road leading to Bust’n B Ranch in Pioneertown, is long, narrow, and isolated, devoid of streetlights and rarely another car in sight.—
Audrey Lee,
Architectural Digest,
28 May 2026
-
These blunders were a tragicomedy—a circus act entirely devoid of peanuts or joy.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
27 May 2026
Noun
-
Passengers are treated to rare desert vistas that aren’t visible from surrounding interstates as the train glides by vast ranches, undulating mountains, and scenic pueblos.—
Jessica Puckett,
Condé Nast Traveler,
3 June 2026
-
Photos and a video Aiello provided show bladed wire snaking around the decomposing animal’s neck and curved horns, as well as the front legs, in a desert landscape dotted with boulders.—
Lila Seidman,
Los Angeles Times,
3 June 2026
Adjective
-
Rural Cuba was profoundly impoverished and underdeveloped before and during the Batista era, and land ownership was scant among the working poor.—
Max Saltman,
CNN Money,
4 June 2026
-
So much for bringing the experience of art to culturally impoverished Butte.—
Jonathan Franzen,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
Adjective
-
Faced with total defeat, the Democrats finally gave up their futile efforts to undermine the public finance system by blocking Blakeman and agreed to recertify him for matching funds.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
29 May 2026
-
Harden may be one of the most prolific scorers of all time, but his attempts at winning a championship have been futile.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
26 May 2026
Adjective
-
The pipeline feeding mid-level and senior positions runs through junior hiring; cutting it today creates a leadership void tomorrow.—
Nitin Agarwal,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
-
Covey said the team is hoping the void space at the top of the tank will absorb the overpressure from the curing process, preventing an explosion.—
Alexandra Koch,
FOXNews.com,
23 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Barren.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barren. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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