barren

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

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.
   We have descended Tian Shan and entered the Taklamakan Desert, a barren landscape painted in ecru—no shrubs, no grass, only waves upon waves of naked ridges the color of buff, the highest few spotted with white specks of snow. 2009, Y.J. Zhu, “Taklamakan Desert Moon Ride”, in Lucy McCauley, editor, The Best Women's Travel Writing 2009: True Stories from Around the World (Travelers' Tales), →ISSN, →OCLC, →OL, page 154
   The druids […] believed that mistletoe could make barren animals fecund, and that it was an antidote to all poisons. 23 December 2014, 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
3. 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. 1922, Michael Arlen, “Ep./4/2”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days
4. Unproductive; fruitless; unprofitable; empty.
   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.
   When the entire coast-line becomes a sea of waving palms, with Chinese and Malay villages fringing the shores, which are at present mere barren wastes of mangroves, with plantations of pepper, of gambier, and of tapioca and rice, the Northern Territory, backed up by the unswerving energy of the Australian squatter, miner, and planter, will present a spectacle almost unknown in the scheme of British colonization. 1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 270
   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. September 2, 2011, Phil McNulty, “Bulgaria 0-3 England”, in BBC
   Terraforming even a barren planet often involves significant financial and ethical hurdles. 2017, BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Technology: Terraforming Codex entry
5. Mentally dull; stupid.

noun

1. An area of low fertility and habitation, a desolate place.
   The pine barrens are a site lonely enough to suit any hermit.