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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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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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of barren
Akiko Katayama, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2024
Shoppers often find shelves barren, with some sections understocked or lacking basic products.
—Francisco Velasquez, Quartz, 29 Dec. 2024
Schermerhorn spent more than a year between 2016 and 2017 working as a technical adviser to the Carter Center in southern Chad, often traveling by motorcycle to remote areas where people live in mud huts spread across a barren landscape.
—Charles Schmidt, Scientific American, 29 Dec. 2024
It's been a barren time for total lunar eclipses of late, with no such occurrence since 2022.
—Jamie Carter, Space.com, 28 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for barren 
Adjective
The students tried to reduce this food loss as well as to solve the urchin barren problem in one shot and the results seemed successful.
—Akiko Katayama, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2024
Shoppers often find shelves barren, with some sections understocked or lacking basic products.
—Francisco Velasquez, Quartz, 29 Dec. 2024
Schermerhorn spent more than a year between 2016 and 2017 working as a technical adviser to the Carter Center in southern Chad, often traveling by motorcycle to remote areas where people live in mud huts spread across a barren landscape.
—Charles Schmidt, Scientific American, 29 Dec. 2024
It's been a barren time for total lunar eclipses of late, with no such occurrence since 2022.
—Jamie Carter, Space.com, 28 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for barren
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barren
Adjective
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Compared to the desolate, almost alien landscape of South Dakota, the North Dakota badlands are flush with vibrant vegetation: Rocky Mountain juniper woodlands, cottonwoods that thrive in the Little Missouri River basin, and sunflowers, asters, and rabbitbrush that bloom in the late summer months.Erica Zazo, Outside Online, 9 Jan. 2025
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After the twinkling lights of the holiday season have been packed away, winter can feel downright dull and desolate, especially for families with energetic kids trapped inside by the cold.Erica Jackson Curran, Parents, 25 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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How did lush rainforest colonize the sterile land so quickly?Kevin West, Travel + Leisure, 4 Jan. 2025
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Carter’s extended time in hospice gave his family the opportunity to prepare for his passing emotionally, cherish precious moments and say their goodbyes without the sterile interruptions of a hospital setting.Stacey Manley, The Mercury News, 4 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Trump attempted one last time to get a judge to block the report but was unsuccessful, NPR's Carrie Johnson tells Up First.Brittney Melton, NPR, 14 Jan. 2025
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An attempt was made to cut a lock to uniform storage, however was unsuccessful.City News Service, Orange County Register, 12 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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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
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The medication has hallucinogenic effects that alter the perception of sight and sound and cause users to feel devoid from pain and out of control of their surroundings.Jay Stahl, USA TODAY, 28 Oct. 2023
Noun
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The desert city, oasis or hellhole or both, can’t help but bounce back.Gary Baum, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Jan. 2025
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Camila Alves McConaughey was a desert vision on her recent date with husband Matthew McConaughey.Dayna Haffenden, People.com, 18 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Mason Fung’s impoverished young defendant Ma Ka Kit is arrested after receiving a package of narcotics from overseas.James Marsh, Deadline, 10 Jan. 2025
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Since Sudan’s civil war drove a surge of refugees to Egypt starting in 2023, however, the impoverished government in Cairo has complained louder and louder about the burden of foreigners.Vivian Yee, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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In my experience, even attempting to get a price estimate beforehand is often futile.Michael Gfoeller And David H. Rundell, Newsweek, 15 Jan. 2025
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Unnecessary pesticides are costly and often futile, and hey may kill beneficial insects and plants.Beth Botts, Chicago Tribune, 5 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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If Rodgers returns in 2025, the cap hit is small for a veteran quarterback ($23.5 million) but that doesn’t factor in that $35 million roster bonus, which would be prorated through 2029 for cap purposes (due to void years, used to spread out a cap hit even when a player is no longer on the roster).Zack Rosenblatt, The Athletic, 9 Jan. 2025
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But when Panamanians set foot in the Canal Zone, their citizenship rights were void and they could be prosecuted under different laws and regulations.Rolando Arrieta, NPR, 29 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near barren
Cite this Entry
“Barren.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barren. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
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