barren means not bearing children, childless; hence also unable to bear children, sterile. It carries an Arena rating of 1643, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, barren ranks #2,277 of 14,322 for Scariest Words, #3,931 of 14,297 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #4,425 of 14,308 for Most Malleable Words, #7,082 of 14,423 for Most Sublime Words.
barren is pronounced /ˈbæɹən/.
Why “barren” is a great word
Incapable of producing offspring, fruit, or vegetation, or of yielding any worthwhile result. From Middle English bareyne, from Anglo-Norman baraigne, baraing ("sterile; barren"), of obscure origin; probably from a Germanic source, perhaps Frankish *baʀ ("bare; barren") or related to Proto-Germanic *bazaz ("bare"), making it a doublet of 'bare'. First recorded in English c. 1200. Unlike "sterile" (which pronounces a clinical, biological finality) or "bare" (which denotes a simple state of exposure), "barren" carries the heavier verdict of futility. It is the silence of a stony field under a pale sky, the hollow ache of a room after a final argument, the sheer exhaustion of a mind that can conceive no new thought—the profound and quiet vacancy that follows when all potential has been spent.
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.
adj
- Not bearing children, childless; hence also 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?”
- Not bearing seed or fruit.
- Of poor fertility, infertile; not producing vegetation; desert, waste.“barren mountain tracts”
- Devoid, lacking.“August 28, 1731, Jonathan Swift, letter to John Gay
But schemes are perfectly accidental. Some will appear barren of hints and matter, but prove to be fruitful.”
- Devoid of interest or attraction, poor, bleak.“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, hollow, vain.“brilliant but barren reveries”
- Mentally dull or unproductive; stupid or intellectually fallow.“Set on some quantity of barren spectators to laugh too.”
noun
- An area of low fertility and habitation, a desolate place.“Sol squinted out over the barrens to where the mountains shimmered in the heat haze.”
- 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.“The pine barrens are a site lonely enough to suit any hermit.”
Words closest in meaning
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