fertility

[ fer-til-i-tee ]

/ fərˈtɪl ɪ ti /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fertility ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the state or quality of being fertile.

Biology. the ability to produce offspring; power of reproduction: the amazing fertility of rabbits.

the birthrate of a population.

(of soil) the capacity to supply nutrients in proper amounts for plant growth when other factors are favorable.

Nearby words

Origin of fertility

1375–1425; late Middle English fertilite (< Middle French) < Latin fertilitās. See fertile, -ity

Related formsnon·fer·til·i·ty, nouno·ver·fer·til·i·ty, nounpre·fer·til·i·ty, nounun·fer·til·i·ty, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for fertility

Marx forecast that the profit motive would lead to overworking and exhausting the fertility of our soil and other natural systems.
American Democracy Under Threat for 250 Years|Jedediah Purdy|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In Wicca, the female goddess is represented by the Moon, a symbol of Mother Earth and fertility.
‘Gods of Suburbia’: Dina Goldstein’s Arresting Photo Series on Religion vs. Consumerism|Dina Goldstein|November 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Women who were active most days were more than three times more likely to have fertility problems than inactive women.
Exercise and Fertility: Are You Too Fit to Get Pregnant?|DailyBurn|August 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A Norwegian population-based survey of nearly 4,000 women under 45 found a clear link between exercise intensity and fertility.
Exercise and Fertility: Are You Too Fit to Get Pregnant?|DailyBurn|August 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST

A researcher attending a fertility conference in Michigan this week discussed her research linking obesity to lower fertility.
The Biggest Myths and Truths About Baby Making|Jean Twenge|July 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He expatiated with great profoundness and fertility of ideas, on the uses to which a faculty like this might be employed.
Memoirs of Carwin the Biloquist|Charles Brockden Brown
He manipulates it, presses it as a child presses its nurse's breast, to draw from its brown bosom the milk of fertility.
The Works of Theophile Gautier, Volume 5|Theophile Gautier
The decay of vegetation was popularly figured as due to the weakness of the god who produced the fertility.
The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria|Morris Jastrow
This grain is sown three times a year, since the fertility of the soil corresponds to the evenness of the seasons.
De Orbe Novo, Volume 1 (of 2)|Trans. by Francis Augustus MacNutt
Among the Greeks and Romans, boundaries were also marked by a phallic statue of Hermes, the god of fertility.
Ancient Pagan and Modern Christian Symbolism|Thomas Inman

British Dictionary definitions for fertility

fertility

/ (fɜːˈtɪlɪtɪ) /

noun

the ability to produce offspring, esp abundantly

the state or quality of being fertile

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012