barren
See also: Barren
EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
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.
PronunciationEdit
AdjectiveEdit
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.
- 1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter 1, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I, II, III, IV, or V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, OCLC 1069526323:
- barren mountain tracts
- 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.
- Bleak.
- 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.
- 1843, William H. Prescott, History of the Conquest of Mexico
- brilliant but barren reveries
- Augusr 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.
- 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.
- 1843, William H. Prescott, History of the Conquest of Mexico
- Mentally dull; stupid.
- 1599-1602, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, III, ii
- Set on some quantity of barren spectators to laugh too.
- 1599-1602, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, III, ii
SynonymsEdit
AntonymsEdit
TranslationsEdit
unable to bear children; sterile
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infertile
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bleak
unproductive
NounEdit
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.
TranslationsEdit
area of low fertility and habitation, a desolate place
AnagramsEdit
BasqueEdit
AdjectiveEdit
barren
CatalanEdit
VerbEdit
barren
- third-person plural present indicative form of barrar
Norwegian BokmålEdit
NounEdit
barren m
Norwegian NynorskEdit
NounEdit
barren m
SpanishEdit
PronunciationEdit
VerbEdit
barren
- Second-person plural (ustedes) present indicative form of barrer.
- Third-person plural (ellos, ellas, also used with ustedes?) present indicative form of barrer.
SwedishEdit
NounEdit
barren