barren

See also: Barren

English

Etymology

From Old French baraigne (“sterile, barren”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈbæɹən/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ærən
• Homophone: baron (in some accents)

Adjective

barren (comparative barrener or more barren, superlative barrenest or most barren)

1. (not comparable) unable to bear children; sterile

   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?

2. of poor fertility, infertile; not producing vegetation
   • Macaulay

     barren mountain tracts

3. bleak
4. Unproductive; fruitless; unprofitable; empty.
   • Prescott

     brilliant but barren reveries

   • Jonathan Swift

     Some schemes will appear barren of hints and matter.

   • 2011 September 2, Phil McNulty, “Bulgaria 0-3 England”, BBC:

     Rooney had been suffered a barren spell for England with only one goal in 15 games but he was in no mood to ignore the gifts on offer in front of an increasingly subdued Bulgarian support.

5. Mentally dull; stupid.

   Set on some quantity of barren spectators to laugh too. Shakespeare. Hamlet. III.ii. ca. 1602

Synonyms

• sterile

Antonyms

• fertile
• fruitful

Translations

unable to bear children; sterile

• Armenian: ամուլ (hy) (amul), չբեր (čʿber)
• Basque: antzu (eu)
• Bulgarian: безплоден (bg) (bezploden), ялов (bg) (jalov)
• Czech: neplodný m
• Dutch: onvruchtbaar (nl), steriel
• Finnish: hedelmätön (fi), steriili (fi), maho (fi)
• German: steril (de), unfruchtbar (de)
• Hungarian: meddő (hu)

• Italian: sterile (it), infertile (it)
• Kurdish:

  Sorani: بێبه‌ر (ku)

• Maori: pākoko, pukupā, wharepā
• Portuguese: estéril (pt), infértil
• Romanian: nefertil (ro) m, n, sterilă f
• Russian: бесплодный (ru) (besplódnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: aimrid, fàsaichte, seasg
• Spanish: estéril (es), infértil

infertile

• Armenian: անպտղաբեր (anptłaber), ամուլ (hy) (amul)
• Basque: antzu (eu)
• Bulgarian: неплодороден (bg) (neplodoroden)
• Esperanto: malfekunda
• Finnish: karu (fi), hedelmätön (fi)
• German: unfruchtbar (de)
• Greek: άκαρπος (el) (ákarpos)
• Hungarian: terméketlen (hu)

• Italian: sterile (it), infruttifero (it)
• Kurdish:

  Sorani: بێبه‌ر (ku)

• Maori: hahore
• Portuguese: estéril, infértil; árido
• Russian: бесплодный (ru) (besplódnyj), неплодородный (ru) (neplodoródnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: aimrid, fàsaichte, seasg
• Spanish: estéril (es), infértil

bleak

• Hiligaynon: baúg

Noun

barren (plural barrens)

1. An area of low fertility and habitation, a desolate place.

   The pine barrens are a site lonely enough to suit any hermit.

Translations

area of low fertility and habitation, a desolate place

• Bulgarian: пустош (bg) (pustoš)
• Maori: rake, hūnua (refers to a place at higher altitude), pāhoahoa

• Russian: пустошь (ru) f (pústoš')
• Swedish: ödemark (sv)

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Basque

Adjective

barren

1. deep

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Spanish

Verb

barren

1. Second-person plural (ustedes) present indicative form of barrer.
2. Third-person plural (ellos, ellas, also used with ustedes^?) present indicative form of barrer.

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Swedish

Noun

barren

1. definite singular of barr
2. definite plural of barr