infertile
Americanadjective
adjective
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not capable of producing offspring; sterile
-
(of land) not productive; barren
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Not capable of reproducing.
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Not capable of developing into a complete organism, as infertile eggs.
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Relating to soil or land that is not capable of supporting or is unfavorable to the growth of plants.
Other Word Forms
- infertilely adverb
- infertileness noun
- infertility noun
Etymology
Origin of infertile
From the Latin word infertilis, dating back to 1590–1600. See in- 3, fertile
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Tens of thousands of people, including infertile and same-sex couples, have had babies through the technological advances of in vitro fertilization and the willingness of surrogates to carry those children.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 28, 2025
It could help older women who are no longer have viable eggs, men who don't produce enough sperm or people whose cancer treatment has left them infertile.
From BBC • Sep. 30, 2025
Carrying around little cups of sperm as political protest, to mock infertile people, is most likely a fake scandal, but not being able to have kids easily is rough.
From Slate • Aug. 23, 2024
Vance wouldn't even apologize to the unhappily infertile.
From Salon • Aug. 5, 2024
In contrast, Australia has by far the oldest, most infertile, most nutrient-leached soils of any continent, because of Australia’s little volcanic activity and its lack of high mountains and glaciers.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
