barren

Word family

Related topics: Birth

bar·ren /ˈbærən/ adjectiveadj → baron

1 TAGROW PLANTS, VEGETABLES ETCland or soil that is barren has no plants growing on it 贫瘠的，荒芜的

Thousands of years ago the surface was barren desert.

很久很久以前，地面还是一片荒漠。

2. MB old-fashioned unable to produce children or baby animals – used of a woman or of female animals 〔妇女或雌性动物〕不孕的，不育的 SYN infertile OPP fertile

3. HBPa tree or plant that is barren does not produce fruit or seeds 不结果实的，不结籽的

4 used to describe something that does not look interesting or attractive 沉闷无趣的，没有吸引力的

The sports hall was a rather barren concrete building.

体育馆是一幢了无生气的混凝土建筑。

5 FAILused to describe a period of time during which you do not achieve anything or get any useful results 〔一段时间〕不出成绩的；无效果的

I scored five in the first seven games, but I’ve had a bit of a barren patch since then.

我在头七场比赛中进了五个球，但是后来一段时间就一直交白卷。

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

Chinese

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Corpus