From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishbarrenbar‧ren /ˈbærən/ ●○○ adjective 1 TAGROW PLANTS, VEGETABLES ETCland or soil that is barren has no plants growing on it Thousands of years ago the surface was barren desert.2 MB old-fashioned unable to produce children or baby animals – used of a woman or of female animals SYN infertile OPP fertile3 HBPa tree or plant that is barren does not produce fruit or seeds4 used to describe something that does not look interesting or attractive The sports hall was a rather barren concrete building.5 FAILused to describe a period of time during which you do not achieve anything or get any useful results I scored five in the first seven games, but I’ve had a bit of a barren patch since then.
Examples from the Corpus
barren• Sir Thomas Blount's half-hearted investigation into Amy's death was absolutely barren.• The future looked bleak and barren.• a barren apartment in a poor area• Lacking its tumultuously fruitful influence, our mental lives would be almost as barren as the moon.• a pointless and barren discussion• The huge structures have endless corridors, barren hallways like tunnels that turn back upon themselves, leading nowhere.• the barren hillsides after the fire• Intense heat had created a completely barren landscape, almost like the moon.• Now a Victorian church stands amid the barren Moor, a mute reminder of the lonely hamlet's more romantic past.• From the approach Amantani looked barren, rocky and sparsely inhabited.• the rocky, barren slopes of the mountain• Later the level was taken off left and right along this, only to be proved a barren string.Origin barren (1100-1200) Old French baraine 