barren
barren Lexical Profile
barren Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Too poor or infertile to produce much or any vegetation; bleak and lifeless.
"The explorers trekked across a barren landscape of rock and sand."
Unable to produce offspring, seeds, or fruit.
"The old orchard trees had become barren after years of neglect."
Devoid of value, meaning, interest, or productive results.
"Hours of negotiation proved barren when neither side agreed to compromise."
• noun
North American A tract of relatively open, infertile land across North America Having sandy or rocky soil that supports only stunted trees, low shrubs, or heath vegetation (usually used in the plural).
"Wild blueberries thrive in the sandy soil of the pine barrens."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse with the homophone 'baron', which refers to a member of the nobility or a powerful business magnate.
• Rhymes for barren
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Middle English, borrowed from Old French baraine ('sterile, unproductive'), a word of uncertain ultimate origin, possibly from a pre-Roman Celtic or Germanic substrate.