barrenness

n.

The condition of being barren; sterility; unproductiveness.

A total barrenness of invention.

Dryden.

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noun

1. The state or condition of being unable to reproduce sexually: infertility, sterility, sterilization. See reproduction/barrenness, rich/poor.
2. Empty, unfilled space: emptiness, nothingness, vacancy, vacuity, vacuum, void. See full/empty/capacity.
3. Total lack of ideas, meaning, or substance: blankness, emptiness, hollowness, inanity, vacancy, vacuity, vacuousness. See full/empty/capacity.

IN BRIEF: n. - A condition yielding nothing of value; The state (usually of a woman) of having no children or being unable to have children.

Tutor's tip: The baroness (woman of nobility) was unhappy because of her barrenness (inability to bear a child).

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: the state (usually of a woman) of having no children or being unable to have children

Meaning #2: a condition yielding nothing of value
  Synonyms: fruitlessness, aridity

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