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Definition of barren adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

barren

adjective
 
/ˈbærən/
 
/ˈbærən/
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  1. (of land or soil) not good enough for plants to grow on it
    • a barren desert
    • a barren landscape (= one that is empty, with few plants)
    Topics Geographyc1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • appear
    • be
    • become
    adverb
    • completely
    • almost
    • fairly
    See full entry
  2. (of plants or trees) not producing fruit or seeds synonym infertile
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • appear
    • be
    • become
    adverb
    • completely
    • almost
    • fairly
    See full entry
  3. (old use) (of a woman) not able to have babies synonym infertile
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • appear
    • be
    • become
    adverb
    • completely
    • almost
    • fairly
    See full entry
  4. (formal) (of a female animal) not able to produce young animals synonym infertile
  5. [usually before noun] not producing anything useful or successful
    • The team will come through this barren patch and start to win again.
    Topics Difficulty and failurec2
  6. Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French barhaine, of unknown origin.
See barren in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
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noun
 
 
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