barren
Plural: barrens
Noun
- A tract of unproductive or desolate land.
- an uninhabited wilderness that is worthless for cultivation
- "the barrens of central Africa"
- An area of low fertility and habitation, a desolate place.
- In particular, a usually elevated and flat expanse of land that only supports the growth of small trees and shrubs, and sometimes mosses or heathers, berries, and other marshy or moory vegetation, but little agriculture and few people.
Adjective Satellite
- providing no shelter or sustenance
- "barren lands"
- not bearing offspring
- "a barren woman"
- completely wanting or lacking
- "writing barren of insight"
Adj
- Not bearing children, childless; hence also unable to bear children, sterile.
- Not bearing seed or fruit.
- Of poor fertility, infertile; not producing vegetation; desert, waste.
- Devoid, lacking.
- Devoid of interest or attraction, poor, bleak.
- Unproductive, fruitless, unprofitable; empty, hollow, vain.
- Mentally dull or unproductive; stupid or intellectually fallow.
Adjective
- Too poor to produce anything; bleak and lifeless.
Examples
- 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?
- My tile rack was barren of vowels, making my next move difficult.
- The pine barrens are a site lonely enough to suit any hermit.
- The southeast corner of the board was a barren, offering no bonus squares.
Origin / Etymology
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.
Synonyms
bare, bleak, desolate, destitute, devoid, free, innocent, stark, waste, wasteland, fruitless, sterile
Scrabble Score: 8
barren: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordbarren: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
barren: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary