barren
/ˈbæɹən/adjective, noun
barren is spelled B-A-R-R-E-N: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,122nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, barren means “Not bearing children, childless; hence also unable to bear children, sterile” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in barren?
| Letters | 6: B-A-R-R-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.5 times per million words; the 17,122nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is barren?
Barren appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,122nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce barren?
- UK /ˈbæɹən/
- British /ˈbaɹən/
- /ˈbaɾən/
Barren has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-barren.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with barren
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sounds like: baron (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with barren?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as barren from its last stressed vowel (/æɹən/, British pronunciation):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of barren
- barrener comparative
- more barren comparative
- barrenest superlative
- most barren superlative
- barrens plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does barren mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Not bearing children, childless; hence also 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
Not bearing seed or fruit.
- 3
Of poor fertility, infertile; not producing vegetation; desert, waste.
- 4
Devoid, lacking.
August 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.
- 5
Devoid of interest or attraction, poor, bleak.
- 6
Unproductive, fruitless, unprofitable; empty, hollow, vain.
- 7
Mentally dull or unproductive; stupid or intellectually fallow.
noun
- 1
An area of low fertility and habitation, a desolate place.
- 2
In particular, a usually elevated and flat expanse of land that only supports the growth of small trees and shrubs, and sometimes mosses or heathers, berries, and other marshy or moory vegetation, but little agriculture and few people.
The pine barrens are a site lonely enough to suit any hermit.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Barren in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | stérile |
| German | steril, unfruchtbar , dürr, karg , ausgetrocknet , Ödland |
| Portuguese | estéril, infértil , árido |
| Spanish | estéril, infértil, infecundo , yermo, páramo, landa |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does barren come from?
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 cognate of English bare.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).