Barren

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈbæɹən/
• Rhymes: -ærÉ™n
• Homophones: baron in some accents

Origin

From Old French baraigne ("sterile, barren").

Full definition of barren

Adjective

1. (not comparable) unable to bear children; sterileI silently wept as my daughter's husband rejected her. What would she do now that she was no longer a maiden but also barren?
2. of poor fertility, infertile; not producing vegetation
• Macaulaybarren mountain tracts
3. bleak
4. Unproductive; fruitless; unprofitable; empty.
• Prescottbrilliant but barren reveries
• Jonathan SwiftSome schemes will appear barren of hints and matter.
• 2011, September 2, Phil McNulty, Bulgaria 0-3 England, Rooney had been suffered a barren spell for England with only one goal in 15 games but he was in no mood to ignore the gifts on offer in front of an increasingly subdued Bulgarian support.
5. Mentally dull; stupid.Set on some quantity of barren spectators to laugh too. Shakespeare. Hamlet. III.ii. ca. 1602

Synonyms

• sterile

Antonyms

• fertile
• fruitful

Noun

1. An area of low fertility and habitation, a desolate place.The pine barrens are a site lonely enough to suit any hermit.