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sterile

/ˈstɛrəl/

/ˈstɛrɪl/

A sterile person can't have kids, and a sterile environment is bland and boring. In both cases, sterile means lifeless.

When you hear about a sterile person, it means they can't have kids: sterile women can't get pregnant, and sterile men can't be fathers. But the concept of sterility applies to things, too. An empty, white room with nothing in it is sterile. And a surgeon's instruments better be sterile — meaning they're free from germs and bacteria.

Definitions of sterile
  1. adjective
    incapable of reproducing
    synonyms: infertile, unfertile
    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
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    Antonyms:
    fertile
    capable of reproducing
    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)
    show more antonyms...
  2. adjective
    free of or using methods to keep free of pathological microorganisms
    “a sterile operating area”
    synonyms: aseptic
    antiseptic
    thoroughly clean and free of or destructive to disease-causing organisms
  3. adjective
    deficient in originality or creativity; lacking powers of invention
    “a sterile ideology lacking in originality”
    synonyms: unimaginative, uninspired, uninventive
    uncreative
    not creative
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘sterile'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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