barren
See also: Barren
Contents
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English barein, barain, from Old French baraigne, baraing (“sterile; barren”), of obscure origin; probably from a Germanic language, perhaps Frankish *bar (“bare; barren”), from Proto-Germanic *bazaz (“bare”). More at bare.
Pronunciation[edit]
Adjective[edit]
barren (comparative barrener or more barren, superlative barrenest or most barren)
- (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?
- Of poor fertility, infertile; not producing vegetation.
- Thomas Macaulay (1800–1859)
- barren mountain tracts
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2014 December 23, Olivia Judson, “The hemiparasite season [print version: Under the hemiparasite, International New York Times, 24–25 December 2014, p. 7]”, in The New York Times[1]:
- The druids […] believed that mistletoe could make barren animals fecund, and that it was an antidote to all poisons.
- Thomas Macaulay (1800–1859)
- Bleak.
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1922, Michael Arlen, “Ep./4/2”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days:
- As they turned into Hertford Street they startled a robin from the poet's head on a barren fountain, and he fled away with a cameo note.
-
- Unproductive; fruitless; unprofitable; empty.
- William H. Prescott (1796-1859)
- brilliant but barren reveries
- Jonathan Swift (1667–1745)
- Some schemes will appear barren of hints and matter.
-
2011 September 2, Phil McNulty, “Bulgaria 0-3 England”, in 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.
- William H. Prescott (1796-1859)
- Mentally dull; stupid.
- William Shakespeare, Hamlet, III.ii. ca. 1602
- Set on some quantity of barren spectators to laugh too.
- William Shakespeare, Hamlet, III.ii. ca. 1602
Synonyms[edit]
Antonyms[edit]
Translations[edit]
unable to bear children; sterile
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infertile
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bleak
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unproductive
Noun[edit]
barren (plural barrens)
- An area of low fertility and habitation, a desolate place.
- The pine barrens are a site lonely enough to suit any hermit.
Translations[edit]
area of low fertility and habitation, a desolate place
Anagrams[edit]
Basque[edit]
Adjective[edit]
barren
Spanish[edit]
Verb[edit]
barren
- Second-person plural (ustedes) present indicative form of barrer.
- Third-person plural (ellos, ellas, also used with ustedes?) present indicative form of barrer.
Swedish[edit]
Noun[edit]
barren
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Germanic languages
- English terms derived from Frankish
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English terms with homophones
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- Basque lemmas
- Basque adjectives
- Spanish non-lemma forms
- Spanish verb forms
- Spanish forms of verbs ending in -er
- Swedish non-lemma forms
- Swedish noun forms
