Meaning & use
fallow
Last updated
(of farmland) plowed and left unseeded for a period to restore its fertility; figuratively, inactive or dormant.
See it in a sentence
The farmer let the north field lie fallow for a season to replenish the soil.
After her acclaimed debut novel, the author went through a fallow period with no new work.
A note on using this word
The figurative use, a 'fallow period,' describes a stretch of inactivity or lack of creative output, borrowed from the farming sense.
Words with a similar meaning
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
productiveactive
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