fertile

/ˈfʌrdl/

/ˈfʌtaɪl/

Other forms: fertilest; fertilely

The word fertile means "able to reproduce," but like so many words, that's just the beginning. The fact that she gave birth to eight kids was proof that she was fertile; her fertile imagination explained their unusual names.

The distance between fertile's literal meaning (able to make babies) and its figurative ones (productive, prolific, full of potential) is small. A child's mind is a fertile place; an idea can grow there very easily. Rabbits are famously fertile creatures; they can spawn several generations in a matter of months. And "fertile ground" can be arable land or a situation that provides the perfect opportunity. The Latin root, fertilis, means "bearing in abundance, fruitful, or productive," from ferre, "to bear."

Definitions of fertile

1. adjective

   capable of reproducing
   synonyms:

   conceptive, impregnable

   capable of conceiving

   conceptive, impregnable

   capable of conceiving

   fecund

   capable of producing offspring or vegetation

   fertilizable

   capable of being fertilized

   rank

   very fertile; producing profuse growth

   fruitful

   productive or conducive to producing in abundance

   potent, stiff, strong

   having a strong physiological or chemical effect

   productive

   producing or capable of producing (especially abundantly)

   antonyms:

   sterile

   incapable of reproducing

   barren

   not bearing offspring

   sterilised, sterilized

   made infertile

   unfertilised, unfertilized, unimpregnated

   not having been fertilized

   unfruitful

   not fruitful; not conducive to abundant production

   impotent

   lacking power or ability

   unproductive

   not producing or capable of producing
2. adjective

   bearing in abundance especially offspring
   synonyms: prolific

   fruitful

   productive or conducive to producing in abundance
3. adjective

   marked by great fruitfulness
   “fertile farmland”

   synonyms: fat, productive, rich

   fruitful

   productive or conducive to producing in abundance
4. adjective

   intellectually productive
   synonyms: fecund, prolific

   productive

   producing or capable of producing (especially abundantly)