fertile

American  

[fur-tl, -tahyl] / ˈfɜr tl, -taɪl /

adjective

1. bearing, producing, or capable of producing vegetation, crops, etc., abundantly; prolific.

   fertile soil.

   Synonyms:

   teeming, fecund

   Antonyms:

   barren, sterile

2. bearing or capable of bearing offspring.

   Synonyms:

   teeming, fecund

   Antonyms:

   barren, sterile

3. abundantly productive.

   a fertile imagination.

   Synonyms:

   teeming, fecund

   Antonyms:

   barren, sterile

4. producing an abundance (usually followed by of orin ).

   a land fertile of wheat.

5. conducive to productiveness.

   fertile showers.

6. Biology.

   1. fertilized, as an egg or ovum; fecundated.

   2. capable of growth or development, as seeds or eggs.

7. Botany.

   1. capable of producing sexual reproductive structures.

   2. capable of causing fertilization, as an anther with fully developed pollen.

   3. having spore-bearing organs, as a frond.

8. Physics. (of a nuclide) capable of being transmuted into a fissile nuclide by irradiation with neutrons.

   Uranium 238 and thorium 232 are fertile nuclides.

9. produced in abundance.

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fertile British  

/ ˈfɜːtaɪl /

adjective

1. capable of producing offspring

2. 1. (of land) having nutrients capable of sustaining an abundant growth of plants

   2. (of farm animals) capable of breeding stock

3. biology

   1. capable of undergoing growth and development

      fertile seeds

      fertile eggs

   2. (of plants) capable of producing gametes, spores, seeds, or fruits

4. producing many offspring; prolific

5. highly productive; rich; abundant

   a fertile brain

6. physics (of a substance) able to be transformed into fissile or fissionable material, esp in a nuclear reactor

7. conducive to productiveness

   fertile rain

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fertile Scientific  

/ fûr′tl /

1. Capable of producing offspring, seeds, or fruit.

2. Capable of developing into a complete organism; fertilized.

3. Capable of supporting plant life; favorable to the growth of crops and plants.

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Synonym Usage

See productive.

Other Word Forms

• fertileness
  noun
• half-fertileness
  noun
• half-fertile
  adjective
• nonfertile
  adjective
• overfertile
  adjective
• prefertile
  adjective
• unfertile
  adjective
• fertilely
  adverb
• half-fertilely
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of fertile

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English (from Middle French ), from Latin fertilis “fruitful,” akin to ferre “to bear”; see bear ¹, -ile

Explanation

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."

Example Sentences

By examining genetic material preserved in bones and teeth, his team is tracing how domesticated animals such as cattle, goats and sheep spread from the Fertile Crescent across Eurasia.

From Science Daily • Mar. 7, 2026

This practice of ritual burial is believed to have originated among early Neolithic groups in the "Fertile Crescent" - a region encompassing parts of modern-day Turkey, Israel, Syria and Lebanon - before gradually spreading westward.

From BBC • Dec. 29, 2024

Van Buren, the incumbent, was a gourmand and “loved all things French food,” said Bruce Kraig, author of “A Rich and Fertile Land: A History of Food in America.”

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 13, 2024

Civilization began in the Fertile Crescent about 10,000 years ago, when people first settled into villages and started growing food.

From Salon • Aug. 11, 2023

The initial development of food production in China was therefore independent of that at the same latitude in the Fertile Crescent, and gave rise to entirely different crops.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

• abundant
• arable
• fruitful
• lush
• productive
• rich