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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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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of barren
Katcy Stephan, Variety, 7 Feb. 2025
The barren structure, half wrapped in glass, is particularly noticeable at night, when strings of bright construction lights illuminate every floor.
—Eric Lach, The New Yorker, 3 Feb. 2025
Introducing the Defender Octa By Eileen Falkenberg-Hull Senior Editor, Autos
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The barren African landscape, darted far more frequently by sharp rocks marking cliff edges on a one-and-a-half-lane-wide road than people or animals, may, on the surface, be a weird place to see the future of Defender.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 30 Jan. 2025
Together, these components could have seeded Earth’s initially barren landscape to produce a habitable world.
—Ars Technica, 30 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for barren
Adjective
Lost in the woods, Irving dreams of a barren forest and the MDR cubicles — with Burt (Christopher Walken) behind a desk.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for barren
Adjective
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In video after video, young people complained about missing their high school graduations and senior proms, of the desolate college campuses that welcomed them and the increasingly precarious economy that waited for them on the other side.—
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The work follows two soldiers from opposing nations who are stationed at a shared barrack on a desolate border.—
Adjective
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This is because unlike polished surfaces which can look and feel cold and sterile, these matte finishes add depth and introduce softness into a kitchen.—
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Typically, the ambiance is sterile rather than soothing.—
Adjective
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The robber was unsuccessful in his attempt to take cash from the register and fled the scene.—
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Kramer, a get-out-the-vote specialist, worked on ballot access for the campaign of former Democratic presidential hopeful Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota and also worked on Kanye West’s unsuccessful 2020 presidential campaign.—
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.—
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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.—
Noun
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Spring Training Highlights to Watch For Aside from the usual tune-up games, the Cubs' Spring Training schedule features some must-watch matchups: Cubs vs. White Sox Showdowns - The crosstown rivalry is alive, even in the desert.—
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Finding new plants in the desert is yet another uncommon feat, with the wooly devil only thriving in scarce locations alongside drought-tolerant shrubs like ocotillo, hedgehog cactus, and creosote.—
Adjective
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Numerous aid workers in northern Thailand described widespread panic and confusion following the sudden suspension of aid, especially among those whose work provides life-saving services to some of the world’s most vulnerable and impoverished people on both sides of the border.—
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Meanwhile, the sight of an unelected billionaire dismantling an agency that was set up to help the impoverished is already undermining faith in U.S. democracy.—
Adjective
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Any reconstruction effort would be futile if a fragile ceasefire in Gaza fails, plunging the territory back to war.—
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Since kids learn by example, Winston notes that telling kids to put down their phones is futile if parents don’t do the same.—
Adjective
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There’s a tension in Hood’s work between light and dark, form and void—a paradox that may tie back to her rocky childhood.—
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For the Rockies, Blackmon’s retirement has left a noticeable leadership void in the clubhouse that will need to be filled by a committee of players in 2025.—
Cite this Entry
“Barren.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/barren. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.
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