barren

CEFRC1

/ˈbæɹən/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Unable to produce plants, crops, or children.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Empty and without life or activity.

Examples

  • The trees are barren or bear only small fruit.

  • He is barren of creative spirit.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /ˈbaɹən/

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Not bearing seed or fruit.

  2. Of poor fertility, infertile; not producing vegetation; desert, waste.

  3. Not bearing children, childless; hence also unable to bear children, sterile.

More examples

In context

  • I silently wept as my daughter's husband rejected her. What would she do now that she was no longer a maiden but also barren?

  • The pine barrens are a site lonely enough to suit any hermit.

  • August 28, 1731, Jonathan Swift, letter to John Gay But schemes are perfectly accidental. Some will appear barren of hints and matter, but prove to be fruitful.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

After the long drought, the once fertile fields became completely blank and lifeless.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

From Middle English bareyne, from Anglo-Norman baraigne, baraing (“sterile; barren”), of obscure origin; probably from a Germanic language, perhaps Frankish *baʀ (“bare; barren”), from Proto-Germanic *bazaz (“bare”). If so, a doublet of bare.