sterile

[ster-il, -ahyl]

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

/ 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

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

2. Free from disease-causing microorganisms.

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of sterile¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of sterile¹

C16: from Latin sterilis

Example Sentences

Meticulous in his habits and wedded to his routines, George loves the sterile formality of the police interview room, where, unmoved by the emotional outbursts of others, he patiently sifts fact from fabrication.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

MIT is an enclave even within the hermetic world of Cambridge academia—a place where complex, bleeding-edge ideas spawn from sterile labs and filthy dorm rooms.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The pyramids have received a new if sterile visitors center, and a walkway is in the works that will connect those wonders with the GEM; the nearby Sphinx International Airport opened in 2020.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“Food insecurity” is the sterile term used by policy experts to describe hunger in America.

Read more on Salon

Barcelona had more of the ball in the first half but it was largely sterile possession and Madrid created the most dangerous opportunities.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

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