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
Avery Schuyler Nunn, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Apr. 2025
There might be a butterfly flittering about barren aspen trunks.
—Ray Mark Rinaldi, Denver Post, 28 Apr. 2025
Then, trace a line up from Mintaka and slightly to the right, to find Betelgeuse.
4 - Mars, Castor and Pollux.
Space agencies and private companies alike have their sights set on exploring the secrets of the Red Planet, with a view to one day putting human boots on its barren surface.
—Anthony Wood, Space.com, 26 Apr. 2025
The wood provides a welcome source of nutrients and shelter on the barren deep-sea landscape.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for barren
Adjective
Without predators to keep them in check, says Laura Rogers-Bennett, a senior environmental scientist at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, urchins devour the base of kelp and can turn towering forests into barren seascapes within a matter of seasons.
—Avery Schuyler Nunn, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Apr. 2025
There might be a butterfly flittering about barren aspen trunks.
—Ray Mark Rinaldi, Denver Post, 28 Apr. 2025
Then, trace a line up from Mintaka and slightly to the right, to find Betelgeuse.
4 - Mars, Castor and Pollux.
Space agencies and private companies alike have their sights set on exploring the secrets of the Red Planet, with a view to one day putting human boots on its barren surface.
—Anthony Wood, Space.com, 26 Apr. 2025
The wood provides a welcome source of nutrients and shelter on the barren deep-sea landscape.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 24 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for barren
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barren
Adjective
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A lot of people have this idea of the north as being cold and desolate, and maybe people, once upon a time, lived up there, but don't anymore.—
Dana Feldman,
Forbes.com,
22 Apr. 2025
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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
Adjective
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Recently, 26 previously unknown bacterial species were discovered in NASA clean rooms — some of the most sterile places humanity has built, designed to prevent spacecraft from carrying unwanted microbes to other planetary bodies.—
Andrew Jones,
Space.com,
21 May 2025
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Why does every waiting room look like some sterile IKEA?—
Shep Hyken,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2025
Adjective
-
Several attempts to establish at least a partial ceasefire have been unsuccessful.—
DASHA LITVINOVA,
Chicago Tribune,
14 May 2025
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Later that month, Kalyn Free, an attorney from Oklahoma who was unsuccessful in her bid for a vice chair position, filed a complaint alleging that the DNC improperly merged two separate questions into a single vote.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 May 2025
Adjective
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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
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This film, set in 1956, hops between the Palazzo Korda, its protagonist’s cavernous mansion, and different quarters of Modern Greater Independent Phoenicia, a vague Middle Eastern nation that’s depicted as an array of deserts, warring factions, and colonial outposts.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
18 May 2025
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By Kate Sullivan, Bloomberg Donald Trump beamed from the passenger seat of a golf cart as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman took the wheel and personally whisked the US president to a desert oasis dinner in an ancient city.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
16 May 2025
Adjective
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Infectious disease experts note that the vitamin is most useful in impoverished countries where children are significantly malnourished.—
Katherine Dillinger,
CNN Money,
1 May 2025
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Post-Civil War, however, the nation was tired, and large segments of the population—especially in the South—were impoverished.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes.com,
15 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Though their efforts were futile, their remains provide remarkable insight into the doomed city’s final moments.—
Eli Wizevich,
Smithsonian Magazine,
13 May 2025
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Through the two-hour journey that makes up the Thunderbolt’s origin story, the audience experiences the way these skilled fighters continue butting heads over the most futile issues.—
Malik Peay,
Essence,
8 May 2025
Adjective
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Assuming Schoen continues his practice of not adding void years, the Giants could create $15.7 million in cap space with a max restructure of Burns’ contract, which runs through 2028.—
Dan Duggan,
New York Times,
21 May 2025
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Their current rotation is Zach Eflin, Dean Kremer, Cade Povich, Sugano, and the void Gibson left behind.—
Daniel R. Epstein,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Barren.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barren. Accessed 25 May. 2025.
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