barren

See also: Barren

English

Etymology

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

• (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.
   • (Can we date this quote?) Thomas Macaulay

     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.

3. 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.

4. Unproductive; fruitless; unprofitable; empty.
   • (Can we date this quote?) William H. Prescott

     brilliant but barren reveries

   • (Can we date this quote?) Jonathan Swift

     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.

5. Mentally dull; stupid.
   • (Can we date this quote?) William Shakespeare, Hamlet, III.ii. ca. 1602

     Set on some quantity of barren spectators to laugh too.

Synonyms

• sterile

Antonyms

• fertile
• fruitful

Translations

unable to bear children; sterile

• Armenian: ամուլ (hy) (amul), չբեր (hy) (čʿber)
• Azerbaijani: sonsuz (az)
• Basque: antzu (eu)
• Belarusian: няпло́дны (njaplódny), я́лавы (jálavy) (of soil, also)
• Bulgarian: безплоден (bg) (bezploden), ялов (bg) (jalov)
• Czech: neplodný m
• Dutch: onvruchtbaar (nl), steriel (nl)
• Esperanto: malfekunda
• Finnish: hedelmätön (fi), steriili (fi), maho (fi)
• French: stérile (fr)
• German: steril (de), unfruchtbar (de)
• Greek: στέρφος (el) (stérfos), άκαρπος (el) (ákarpos), στείρος (el) (steíros)

  Ancient Greek: στεῖρος (steîros)

• Hungarian: meddő (hu)
• Interlingua: sterile
• Interlingue: steril
• Italian: sterile (it), infertile (it)
• Kurdish:

  Sorani: بێبه‌ر‎ (ku) (bêber)

• Macedonian: неплоден (neploden), јалов (jalov) (of soil, also)
• Malay: mandul
• Maori: pākoko, pukupā, wharepā, matapā
• Nahuatl: tetzacatl (nah)
• Polish: bezpłodny (pl), niepłodny
• Portuguese: estéril (pt), infértil (pt)
• Romanian: nefertil (ro) m or n, sterilă f, sterp (ro)
• Russian: беспло́дный (ru) (besplódnyj), я́ловый (ru) (jálovyj) (of soil, also)
• Scots: eild
• Scottish Gaelic: aimrid, fàsaichte, seasg
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ја̏лов

  Roman: jȁlov (sh)

• Slovak: neplodný
• Slovene: jalov
• Spanish: estéril (es), infértil (es)
• Tagalog: kumil
• Ukrainian: безплі́дний (uk) (bezplídnyj), неплі́дний (neplídnyj), я́ловий (uk) (jálovyj) (of soil, also)

infertile

• Armenian: անպտղաբեր (hy) (anptłaber), ամուլ (hy) (amul)
• Basque: antzu (eu)
• Bulgarian: неплодороден (bg) (neplodoroden)
• Esperanto: malfekunda
• Finnish: karu (fi), hedelmätön (fi)
• German: unfruchtbar (de), dürr (de), karg (de)
• Greek: άκαρπος (el) (ákarpos)
• Hungarian: terméketlen (hu)
• Indonesian: tandus (id)
• Interlingua: infertile
• Irish: ocrach
• Italian: sterile (it), infruttifero (it)
• Kurdish:

  Sorani: بێبه‌ر‎ (ku) (bêber)

• Maori: hahore, tohetea, hūiki, pāhoahoa, tītōhea
• Nahuatl: tetzacatl (nah)
• Polish: bezpłodny (pl), jałowy (pl)
• Portuguese: estéril (pt), infértil (pt); árido (pt)
• Romanian: arid (ro), sterp (ro)
• Russian: беспло́дный (ru) (besplódnyj), неплодоро́дный (ru) (neplodoródnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: aimrid, fàsaichte, seasg
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ја̏лов

  Roman: jȁlov (sh)

• Slovene: jalov
• Spanish: estéril (es), infértil (es)

bleak

• German: ausgetrocknet (de), vertrocknet (de), trocken (de), dürr (de), kahl (de), ausgedörrt, karg (de)
• Hiligaynon: baúg
• Italian: desolato (it)

• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: о̀скудан

  Roman: òskudan (sh)

unproductive

• Esperanto: senfrukta
• Maori: tūpā
• Polish: jałowy (pl)

• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: нѐплодан

  Roman: nèplodan (sh)

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)
• German: Ödland (de) n, Öde f, Kargland n
• Maori: rake, hūnua (refers to a place at higher altitude), pāhoahoa, akeake, tuakau
• Polish: pustkowie (pl)

• Russian: пу́стошь (ru) f (pústošʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian: pustoš (sh)
• Slovene: jalovišče n
• Swedish: ödemark (sv)

Anagrams

• Barner

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Basque

Adjective

barren

1. deep

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Catalan

Verb

barren

1. third-person plural present indicative form of barrar

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Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

barren m

1. definite singular of barre

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

barren m

1. definite singular of barre

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Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈba.ren/

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