sterile

American  

[ster-il, -ahyl] / ˈstɛr ɪl, -aɪl /

adjective

1. free from living germs or microorganisms; aseptic.

   Successful operations rely on timely delivery of the sterile surgical instruments needed for each procedure.

2. incapable of producing offspring; not producing offspring.

   Synonyms:

   unfruitful, infecund

   Antonyms:

   fertile

3. barren; not producing vegetation.

   Attempts to cultivate the land have failed because of the sterile soil.

   Antonyms:

   fertile

4. Botany.

   1. noting a plant in which reproductive structures fail to develop.

   2. bearing no stamens or pistils.

5. not productive of results, ideas, etc.; fruitless.

6. lacking vitality, vibrancy, interest, etc..

   Art can transform an otherwise sterile office into a happy, inspiring, and comforting space.

---

sterile British  

/ ˈstɛraɪl, stɛˈrɪlɪtɪ /

adjective

1. unable to produce offspring; infertile

2. free from living, esp pathogenic, microorganisms; aseptic

3. (of plants or their parts) not producing or bearing seeds, fruit, spores, stamens, or pistils

4. lacking inspiration or vitality; fruitless

5. economics (of gold) not being used to support credit creation or an increased money supply

---

sterile Scientific  

/ stĕr′əl,stĕr′īl′ /

1. Not able to produce offspring, seeds, or fruit; unable to reproduce.

2. Free from disease-causing microorganisms.

---

Other Word Forms

• half-sterile adjective
• nonsterile adjective
• nonsterilely adverb
• sterilely adverb
• sterileness noun
• sterility noun
• unsterile adjective

Etymology

Origin of sterile

First recorded in 1545–55; from Latin sterilis “barren, unfruitful”

Explanation

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.

Example Sentences

We also watched a nurse rummage through a medical waste disposal box without sterile gloves.

From BBC • Apr. 13, 2026

It relies on an innovative "cage-in-cage" sterile housing system developed by Rodriguez-Palacios, a rare capability that enabled this work.

From Science Daily • Apr. 9, 2026

Behind the glass of a sterile room, two employees in full protective suits could be seen extracting an insulin component from a large vat to send a test sample to a customer.

From Barron's • Apr. 5, 2026

While the bots are getting slightly better at mimicking human cadences, AI-generated writing still reeks of the sterile laboratory where it originates.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026

She was afraid the sterile towel would slip from his head.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

Related Words

• antiseptic
• arid
• barren
• bleak
• desolate
• futile
• hygienic
• impotent
• infertile