infertile

[ in-fur-tl or, especially British, -tahyl ]
See synonyms for: infertileinfertility on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. not fertile; unproductive; sterile; barren: infertile soil.

Origin of infertile

1
From the Latin word infertilis, dating back to 1590–1600. See in-3, fertile

Other words from infertile

  • in·fer·tile·ly, adverb
  • in·fer·til·i·ty, in·fer·tile·ness, noun

Words Nearby infertile

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use infertile in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for infertile

infertile

/ (ɪnˈfɜːtaɪl) /


adjective
  1. not capable of producing offspring; sterile

  2. (of land) not productive; barren

Derived forms of infertile

  • infertilely, adverb
  • infertility (ˌɪnfəˈtɪlɪtɪ), noun

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

Scientific definitions for infertile

infertile

[ ĭn-fûrtl ]


  1. Not capable of reproducing.

  2. Not capable of developing into a complete organism, as infertile eggs.

  1. Relating to soil or land that is not capable of supporting or is unfavorable to the growth of plants.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.