Thesaurus
barren
adjective
Synonyms and Antonyms of BARREN
1
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 bony (also boney), dead, desolate, hardscrabble, impoverished, infertile, poor, stark, unfertile, unproductive, waste
Related Words bleak, inhospitable, lifeless; uncultivable, untillable; bankrupted, consumed, debilitated, depleted, diminished, drained, dried-up, enfeebled, exhausted, expended, lessened, reduced, spent, used up; arid, desert, droughty, dry, rainless, sere (also sear), thirsty, waterless; baked, dehydrated, parched, sunbaked
2
not able to produce fruit or offspring <the pear tree appears to be barren>
Related Words altered, desexed, neutered, sterilized; castrated, emasculated, gelded; spayed; unproductive
Near Antonyms fecund, luxuriant, productive, prolific; enriched, fertilized, rich; impregnated, pregnant; potent; bearing, producing, yielding; blooming, bursting, flourishing, swarming, teeming
3
producing no results <that line of investigation proved barren, so the police tried other avenues>
Synonyms abortive, barren, bootless, empty, fruitless, ineffective, ineffectual, inefficacious, otiose, profitless, unavailing, unproductive, unprofitable, unsuccessful, useless, vain
Related Words hollow, idle, meaningless, pointless, valueless, worthless; hopeless, impossible, lost, no-win, unattainable; inadequate, insufficient, lacking, wanting; counterproductive
Near Antonyms meaningful, worthwhile; adequate, sufficient; applicable, feasible, functional, practicable, practical, realizable, usable (also useable), workable
Antonyms deadly, effective, effectual, efficacious, efficient, fruitful, potent, productive, profitable, successful, virtuous
4
utterly lacking in something needed, wanted, or expected <their proposal for revitalizing the downtown business district is utterly barren of useful ideas>
Related Words blank, empty, innocent, stark, vacant, wanting; deficient, fragmental, fragmentary, incomplete, insufficient, partial, short; absent, missing
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