Meaning & use
barnburner
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Meanings
nouncountableinformalAmerican
An exciting event, game or performance that is tense and intense from start to finish.
Grammar: Often used for close sports matches: the game was a barnburner.
Patterns
- a barnburner of a game
- turn into a barnburner
The playoff opener turned out to be a real barnburner.
Their debate was a barnburner that kept viewers glued to the screen.
It was a barnburner of a finish, with the lead changing five times.
nouncountableinformalAmerican
A very powerful, fiery speech or stirring performance that fires up an audience.
Grammar: Used with a word like speech or show: a barnburner of a speech.
Patterns
- a barnburner of a speech
The governor gave a barnburner at the rally.
His closing remarks were a barnburner that brought the crowd to its feet.
The band played a barnburner of a final song.
nouncountablespecialist
A member of a radical faction of the New York Democratic Party in the 1840s that opposed the spread of slavery.
Grammar: A historical usage, written Barnburner with a capital letter.
Patterns
- the Barnburners
The Barnburners opposed the spread of slavery into new territories.
Historians describe the Barnburners as a reform-minded faction.
Martin Van Buren was supported by the Barnburners in 1848.
Word forms
| plural | barnburners |
|---|
Common combinations
- real barnburner
- The championship game was a real barnburner.
- barnburner of a speech
- She delivered a barnburner of a speech at the convention.
- barnburner finish
- The race had a barnburner finish.
- barnburner election
- Analysts predict a barnburner election this fall.
- turn into a barnburner
- The quiet match turned into a barnburner after halftime.
Synonyms and how they differ
- nail-biter
- Nail-biter stresses nervous tension while waiting for the result, whereas barnburner stresses overall intensity and excitement.
- thriller
- Thriller is more general and can describe a film or book as well as a close contest.
- cliffhanger
- Cliffhanger suggests an unresolved ending, especially in stories, rather than an exciting event overall.
- corker
- Corker is a British informal word for something excellent, without barnburner's focus on a tense contest.
Opposites
Word family
- barn-burning adjective
- extremely exciting or fiery, as in a barn-burning performance
- barnstorm verb
- to tour places giving rousing speeches or performances
- barnstormer noun
- someone or something that excites crowds on tour
Commonly confused: barnburner or barnstormer?
barnburner vs barnstormer
A barnstormer is a performer or politician who tours rousing crowds, while a barnburner is the event or speech itself that excites a crowd.
Practice
The two teams traded the lead all night in what sportscasters called a ____.
Choose one answer.
A barnburner is an exciting, close contest. A blowout, snoozefest and walkover all describe one-sided or dull games.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “barnburner”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.