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
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
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Recent Examples of barren
Jeremy Lybarger, ARTnews.com, 26 Mar. 2025
Meanwhile, the patch of skin to the ’22 trophy’s left looks almost barren.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 25 Mar. 2025
Mass Effect's core loop doesn't benefit from huge barren landscapes that are devoid of detail.
—Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 25 Mar. 2025
While a prince’s kiss isn’t expected to revive Snow White at the box office, parents and young girls could give her a little lift in a barren spring break marketplace.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 23 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for barren
Adjective
Charlie Parker’s Favorite Painting (1946) indicates Abercrombie’s engagement with social issues: a yellow noose, nearly fluorescent against a dishwater sky, dangles from a barren tree—an oblique lament from the doggedly antiracist Abercrombie.
—Jeremy Lybarger, ARTnews.com, 26 Mar. 2025
Meanwhile, the patch of skin to the ’22 trophy’s left looks almost barren.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 25 Mar. 2025
Mass Effect's core loop doesn't benefit from huge barren landscapes that are devoid of detail.
—Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 25 Mar. 2025
While a prince’s kiss isn’t expected to revive Snow White at the box office, parents and young girls could give her a little lift in a barren spring break marketplace.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 23 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for barren
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barren
Adjective
-
The Memphis rapper began the show with dramatics, rising on a giant platform with her back to the audience as a screen behind her projected the image of a desolate street.—
John Lonsdale,
Rolling Stone,
12 Apr. 2025
-
The food and atmosphere had people from across the city willing to venture to a desolate stretch of Bushwick.—
Jeremy Repanich,
Robb Report,
7 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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With two treatments, the capybaras should be sterile for at least a few months.—
Michael Nied,
People.com,
18 Apr. 2025
-
The lower levels of the parking garage are sterile and lifeless — a liminal space of flickering lights and zero cars.—
Jack Flemming,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
But the Supreme Court denied the court order and requests to President Donald Trump from family, supporters and her attorney were unsuccessful.—
Nicole Acosta,
People.com,
19 Apr. 2025
-
Meanwhile, Min and Chris’ closest friends, Kelly Marie Tran’s Angela, a research scientist, and Lily Gladstone’s Lee, an Indigenous community organizer, have been struggling to conceive a child; Lee has just found out that her second round of IVF has been unsuccessful.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
18 Apr. 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
-
Delle, devoid for so long from its intrinsic need for social interaction might be filling in the gaps by talking to himself.—
Mack DeGeurin,
Popular Science,
14 Feb. 2023
Noun
-
Comments Festival season has officially kicked off with hundreds of thousands of people flocking to the desert for Coachella 2025.—
Olivia Young,
Travel + Leisure,
24 Apr. 2025
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What To Know In images released by Giles Pendleton, the Line's chief operating officer, the city's ground infrastructure can be seen taking shape, with the 200-meter-wide outline of the city showing in the desert of the Tabuk Province.—
Ross Rosenfeld,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Pope Francis was the first pope to take the name of St. Francis of Assisi, well-known for his call for engagement with the impoverished, love of creation and the Church.—
Gabriele Regalbuto,
FOXNews.com,
26 Apr. 2025
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The dedication to care for impoverished women and children continues to influence the culture and values of Mercy today.—
Ross Rosenfeld,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Regardless, returning him would be futile, said the president’s aides, as his ultimate fate would be imprisonment, in the United States or elsewhere.—
Michael Wilner,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2025
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Another recommendation: Attacking Trump’s character, however abhorrent critics may find it, is futile.—
Garry Kasparov,
The Atlantic,
17 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Thankfully, plenty of other types of fruit are standing at the ready to fill that fiber void—without skimping on that watermelon-like crunch either.—
Caroline Tien,
SELF,
16 Apr. 2025
-
The agreements were declared void, and the Kailasans were deported — not to Kailasa, but to their actual home countries, among them India, the United States, Sweden and China.—
Mujib Mashal,
New York Times,
3 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Barren.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barren. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
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