sterile
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.
barren; not producing vegetation: Attempts to cultivate the land have failed because of the sterile soil.
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.
Origin of sterile
1Other words for sterile
Opposites for sterile
Other words from sterile
- ster·ile·ly, adverb
- ste·ril·i·ty [stuh-ril-i-tee], /stəˈrɪl ɪ ti/, ster·ile·ness, noun
- half-ster·ile, adjective
- non·ster·ile, adjective
- non·ster·ile·ly, adverb
- un·ster·ile, adjective
Words Nearby sterile
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use sterile in a sentence
Complete with 348 items, organized neatly into 20 inner compartments, you’ll get a comprehensive kit including 28 sting relief pads, 10 large sterile gauze pads, and one emergency glow stick.
The best first aid kits for staying safe and prepared | PopSci Commerce Team | September 4, 2020 | Popular-ScienceEquipped with 130 items, you’ll get 50 adhesive bandages, an instant cold press, and a sterile eye pad.
The best first aid kits for staying safe and prepared | PopSci Commerce Team | September 4, 2020 | Popular-ScienceThis decidedly non-invasive diagnostic simply requires a spit sample that can be collected in a sterile container.
What makes the latest coronavirus testing process, developed by Yale, so promising | Sy Mukherjee | August 18, 2020 | FortuneThey had been home with their families for so long in what can be a socially sterile environment.
The Learning Curve: One School District Stayed Open – and Didn’t Have Problems | Will Huntsberry | August 13, 2020 | Voice of San DiegoWe went from the availability of one dose of the drug in 1941, to four million sterile packages of the drug every month four years later.
Why We Need Mass Automation to Pandemic-Proof the Supply Chain | Derik Pridmore | July 10, 2020 | Singularity Hub
In reality,” Francis said, “theatrical severity and sterile pessimism are often symptoms of fear and insecurity.
Pope Francis Denounces the Vatican Elite’s 'Spiritual Alzheimer’s' | Barbie Latza Nadeau | December 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTKoenig has not been a sterile, objective narrator; she has openly voiced her biases, concerns, and gut feelings all along.
Adnan Killed Her! No, Jay Did It! Serial’s Uncertain, True-to-Reality End | Emily Shire | December 18, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST“Nonsterile gloves and sterile obstetric and surgical gloves were depleted or absent in all four counties,” the report reads.
Though she portrays the Gulf Coast city as sterile, she also writes about it as a kind of haven.
Birenbaum-Carmeli also points to technology that means even a near-sterile man can now be assisted to impregnate his wife.
The letter was the swift and desperate sequel to several days' absolutely sterile reflection.
Hilda Lessways | Arnold BennettHuman milk is sterile when secreted, but derives a few bacteria from the lacteal ducts.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell Toddsterile, dissipated and prodigal, she made her husband very unhappy, thus avenging the first Mme. Brunner.
Repertory Of The Comedie Humaine, Complete, A -- Z | Anatole Cerfberr and Jules Franois ChristopheThis country was so cold and sterile and unpropitious that winter predominated, and it was difficult to support life.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume I | John LordThe country which they passed through was sterile in the extreme, and the expedition proved a failure.
Robert Moffat | David J. Deane
British Dictionary definitions for sterile
/ (ˈstɛraɪl) /
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, US (of gold) not being used to support credit creation or an increased money supply
Origin of sterile
1Derived forms of sterile
- sterilely, adverb
- sterility (stɛˈrɪlɪtɪ), 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 sterile
[ stĕr′əl, stĕr′īl′ ]
Not able to produce offspring, seeds, or fruit; unable to reproduce.
Free from disease-causing microorganisms.
Other words from sterile
- sterility noun (stə-rĭl′ĭ-tē)
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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