| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | not bearing fruit, young |
| Synonyms: | barren, depleted, drained, effete, exhausted, impotent, impoverished, infecund, nonproductive, sterile, unbearing, unfertile, unfruitful, unproductive |
| Antonyms: | fertile, fruitful, potent, productive |
| Main Entry: | desert |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | barren, uncultivated |
| Synonyms: | arid, bare, desolate, infertile, lonely, solitary, sterile, uninhabited, unproductive, untilled, waste, wild |
| Notes: | that impoverished stretch of sand called a desert can only afford one 's'; that rich gooey extra thing at the end of the meal called a dessert indulges in two of them |
| Antonyms: | cultivated, fertile, productive |
| Main Entry: | effete |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | unproductive |
| Synonyms: | barren, fruitless, impotent, infecund, infertile, sterile, unfruitful, unprolific |
| Antonyms: | productive, useful, working |
| Main Entry: | fruitless |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | bringing no advantage, product |
| Synonyms: | abortive, barren, empty, futile, gainless, idle, in vain, ineffective, ineffectual, infertile, pointless, profitless, spinning one's wheels, sterile, to no avail, to no effect, unavailable, unavailing, unfruitful, unproductive, unprofitable, unprolific, unsuccessful, useless, vain, wild goose chase |
| Antonyms: | copious, fruitful, plentiful, potent, productive, profitable, successful, useful |
| Main Entry: | lean |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | bare, thin |
| Synonyms: | angular, anorexic, barren, beanpole, bony, emaciated, gangling, gangly, gaunt, haggard, inadequate, infertile, lank, lanky, meager, no fat, pitiful, poor, rangy, rawboned, scanty, scraggy, scrawny, shadow*, sinewy, skinny, slender, slim, spare, sparse, stick, stilt, stringy, svelte, sylphlike, twiggy, unfruitful, unproductive, wasted, wiry, wizened, worn |
| Notes: | lean means thin or without excess fat or containing little excess, while a lien is the right to take or sell another's property if an obligation is not met |
| Antonyms: | fat, plump |
| Main Entry: | meager |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | small, inadequate; poor |
| Synonyms: | bare, barren, deficient, exiguous, flimsy, inappreciable, inconsiderable, infertile, insubstantial, insufficient, little, mere, minimum, miserable, paltry, puny, scant, scanty, scrimp, scrimpy, shabby, short, skimp, skimpy, slender, slight, spare, sparse, subtle, tenuous, too little too late, unfinished, unfruitful, unproductive, wanting, weak |
| Antonyms: | adequate, large, liberal, plenty, substantial, sufficient |
| Main Entry: | poor |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | weak, unfertile |
| Synonyms: | bare, barren, depleted, exhausted, feeble, fruitless, impaired, imperfect, impoverished, indisposed, infertile, infirm, puny, sick, sterile, unfruitful, unproductive, worthless |
| Antonyms: | fertile, potent, strong |
| Main Entry: | sterile |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | unproductive, clean |
| Synonyms: | antiseptic, arid, aseptic, bare, barren, bleak, dead, decontaminated, desert, desolate, disinfected, dry, effete, empty, fallow, fruitless, futile, gaunt, germ-free, hygienic, impotent, infecund, infertile, pasteurized, sanitary, septic, sterilized, unfruitful, uninfected, unprofitable, unprolific, vain, waste, without issue |
| Antonyms: | dirty, fruitful, productive |
| Main Entry: | unproductive |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | idle, nonproductive |
| Synonyms: | barren, empty, fruitless, futile, ineffective, infertile, pointless, sterile, trivial, unprofitable, useless, worthless |
| Notes: | unproductive is achieving poor results while nonproductive is achieving no results |