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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sterile
not able to produce fruit or offspring
the pear tree appears to be barren
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in unsuccessful
producing no results
that line of investigation proved barren, so the police tried other avenues
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of barren
Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 20 Mar. 2025
Since that region is particularly barren, the wind picks up and starts blowing dust towards the Metroplex.
—Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Mar. 2025
This is where the montage sequences get really aggressive, assaulting the viewer with imagery of barren alien landscapes and skulls with the flesh melting off of their faces.
—Katie Rife, IndieWire, 12 Mar. 2025
Even along the relatively mild coasts, where summer temperatures hover just below freezing, the land is a barren expanse of rock, ice and snow.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for barren
Adjective
At this time—in the Ediacaran Period—the land was overwhelmingly barren and lifeless; although shallow seas played host to an array of strange, soft bodied creatures.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 20 Mar. 2025
Since that region is particularly barren, the wind picks up and starts blowing dust towards the Metroplex.
—Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 20 Mar. 2025
This is where the montage sequences get really aggressive, assaulting the viewer with imagery of barren alien landscapes and skulls with the flesh melting off of their faces.
—Katie Rife, IndieWire, 12 Mar. 2025
Even along the relatively mild coasts, where summer temperatures hover just below freezing, the land is a barren expanse of rock, ice and snow.
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for barren
Recent Examples of Synonyms for barren
Adjective
-
Fourteen years of war have left the country desolate, and its people exhausted; millions have been displaced or were forced to become refugees.—
Raghed Waked & Justin Salhani,
The Dial,
25 Mar. 2025
-
That quality is maintained first and foremost by a desolate whistling-wind sound effect in the background of all the scenes, along with a sustained droning musical score.—
Ben Coxworth,
New Atlas,
14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Her dance team performances were supplanted with physical therapy, and high school classrooms replaced with sterile examination rooms.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
22 Mar. 2025
-
That's due in large part to Chad's fragile health system and is compounded by the many Chadian women who don't have access to a safe and sterile place to deliver.—
Ari Daniel,
NPR,
19 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Nonetheless, Punk had two very unsuccessful, farcical moments in the Octagon, so there could be some credence to Paul’s thought that White wanted nothing else to do with a crossover fight from a WWE Superstar.—
Brian Mazique,
Forbes.com,
27 Mar. 2025
-
Last May, students barricaded themselves inside the building—after dedicating it to the famed Palestinian painter who died in 2024 following unsuccessful appeals for a medical evacuation from Gaza— amid a rising wave of pro-Palestine demonstrations on college campuses across the United States.—
Tessa Solomon,
ARTnews.com,
27 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Banking has become functionally correct but emotionally devoid, with the industry swimming in a sea of sameness.—
Michael Abbott,
Forbes,
19 Mar. 2025
-
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
Noun
-
That's not to say that all planets that pass through the hot Neptune desert lose their gaseous envelopes in this same way.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
31 Mar. 2025
-
In addition, strong winds over desert areas could result in briefly lowered visibilities to well under a mile at times in blowing dust or blowing sand.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
31 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
With the dwarfs and bandits by her side, Snow White vows to reclaim her parents’ home and restore peace to her impoverished kingdom.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA TODAY,
21 Mar. 2025
-
The homes are part of an ambitious five-year plan, announced in 2021, to build 50,000 additional apartments in Pyongyang, where residents’ quality of life is considerably higher than elsewhere in the impoverished country.—
Oscar Holland,
CNN,
19 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
However, these attempts are futile, and such baseless rumors will ultimately be consigned to the dustbin of history.—
Ron Estes,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Mar. 2025
-
Impeachment is seen as a largely futile effort, given the near-zero chance that at least 14 Senate Democrats would join Republicans in convicting and removing any of the judges.—
Sarah Fortinsky,
The Hill,
25 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The void year concept was used on quarterback Zach Wilson.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
1 Apr. 2025
-
The 29-year-old still has two years left on the contract and ESPN, citing unnamed sourcing, reported late last year that Watson and the team agreed to rework his contract to add void years and move his dead salary cap into 2030.—
Ben Morse,
CNN Money,
1 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Barren.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barren. Accessed 6 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share