English Explanatory Dictionary

sterile

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Unable to reproduce (or procreate).
  2. Terse; lacking sentiment or emotional stimulation, as in a manner of speaking.
  3. Fruitless, uninspiring, or unproductive.
  4. Germless; free from all living or viable microorganisms.
  5. Permanently uninhabitable (as in a planet like Earth) to all life, including even microbes.
  6. Free from dangerous objects, as a zone in an airport that can be only be entered via a security checkpoint.
  7. Of weapons: foreign-made and untraceable to the United States.

Pronunciation

stĕrʹīl" stĕrʹəl /ˈstɛɹaɪl/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-sterile.wav /ˈstɛɹəl/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Wodencafe-sterile.wav

Word forms

sterile more sterile most sterile

Etymology

From Middle French stérile, from Latin sterilis (“barren, futile”). See also Ancient Greek στεῖρα (steîra).

Synonyms

fruitless sterile barren infertile

Antonyms

fertile non-sterile nonsterile unsterile fecund fruitful potent productive

Related words

sterilisation sterilization sterilise sterilize sterilised sterilized sterility castrated castrato emasculate neuter

Derived words

anti-sterile-neutrino intersterile self-sterile semisterile sterilant sterile antineutrino sterilely sterileness sterile neutrino sterile oat steripipette ultrasterile
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