sterile
Americanadjective
-
free from living germs or microorganisms; aseptic.
Successful operations rely on timely delivery of the sterile surgical instruments needed for each procedure.
-
incapable of producing offspring; not producing offspring.
- Synonyms:
- unfruitful, infecund
- Antonyms:
- fertile
-
barren; not producing vegetation.
Attempts to cultivate the land have failed because of the sterile soil.
- Antonyms:
- fertile
-
Botany.
-
noting a plant in which reproductive structures fail to develop.
-
bearing no stamens or pistils.
-
-
not productive of results, ideas, etc.; fruitless.
-
lacking vitality, vibrancy, interest, etc..
Art can transform an otherwise sterile office into a happy, inspiring, and comforting space.
adjective
-
unable to produce offspring; infertile
-
free from living, esp pathogenic, microorganisms; aseptic
-
(of plants or their parts) not producing or bearing seeds, fruit, spores, stamens, or pistils
-
lacking inspiration or vitality; fruitless
-
economics (of gold) not being used to support credit creation or an increased money supply
-
Not able to produce offspring, seeds, or fruit; unable to reproduce.
-
Free from disease-causing microorganisms.
Other Word Forms
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.
Vocabulary lists containing sterile
The Handmaid's Tale
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Boy: Tales of Childhood
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All Thirteen
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“The sterile white ballroom, with its 40-foot ceilings, gilded chandeliers, and sky-high windows, conveys none of that.”
From Slate • May 18, 2026
He has gutted the bathroom attached to the Lincoln Bedroom in the White House’s private quarters, altering its green Art Deco tile work to a sterile marble with gold fixtures.
From Salon • May 7, 2026
The material was then dialyzed, sterile filtered, and freeze dried.
From Science Daily • May 5, 2026
While the telegraph had already achieved near-instant communication, it was limited to the sterile clicks of Morse code.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026
“Did you know that sweat is sterile when it comes out of your body?”
From "The Thing About Jellyfish" by Ali Benjamin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
