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fecund

adjective
fe·​cund | \ ˈfe-kÉ™nd How to pronounce fecund (audio) , ˈfÄ“- How to pronounce fecund (audio) \

Definition of fecund

1 : fruitful in offspring or vegetation : prolific a fecund breed of cattle
2 : intellectually productive or inventive to a marked degree a fecund imagination a fecund source of information
Other Words from fecund Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about fecund

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Other Words from fecund

fecundity \ fi-​ˈkÉ™n-​dÉ™-​tÄ“ How to pronounce fecundity (audio) , fe-​ \ noun

Choose the Right Synonym for fecund

fertile, fecund, fruitful, prolific mean producing or capable of producing offspring or fruit. fertile implies the power to reproduce in kind or to assist in reproduction and growth fertile soil ; applied figuratively, it suggests readiness of invention and development. a fertile imagination fecund emphasizes abundance or rapidity in bearing fruit or offspring. a fecund herd fruitful adds to fertile and fecund the implication of desirable or useful results. fruitful research prolific stresses rapidity of spreading or multiplying by or as if by natural reproduction. a prolific writer

Did You Know?

Fecund and its synonyms "fruitful" and "fertile" all mean producing or capable of producing offspring or fruit-literally or figuratively. "Fecund" applies to things that yield offspring, fruit, or results in abundance or with rapidity ("a fecund herd"; "a fecund imagination"). "Fruitful" emphasizes abundance, too, and often adds the implication that the results attained are desirable or useful ("fruitful plains"; "a fruitful discussion"). "Fertile" implies the power to reproduce ("a fertile woman") or the power to assist in reproduction, growth, or development ("fertile soil"; "a fertile climate for artists").

Examples of fecund in a Sentence

a fecund breed of cattle the Franklin stove, bifocals, and the lightning rod are just a few of the inventions that we owe to the fecund creativity of Benjamin Franklin

Recent Examples on the Web

 Last April, along a stretch of fecund Australian countryside, a couple expecting a baby performed what thousands of expectant couples now believe is the proper ritual for such an occasion. — Monica Hesse, Washington Post, "Let’s have a gender-reveal party that reveals gender is a construct," 30 July 2019 Later generations were more fecund, with many of the most fit offspring being hybrids of the local and introduced fish, Reid reported at the meeting. — Elizabeth Pennisi, Science | AAAS, "Boosting genetic diversity may save vanishing animal populations. But it may also backfire," 16 July 2019 Nature is fecund all around us, a season in full swing, wheeling, dicing spores so numerous that the air is thick with them. — Melinda Stevens, Condé Nast Traveler, "Editor's Letter: On Savoring the Moment at Every Bend," 25 June 2019 His partner, Peter Schlesinger, a young California artist who had posed for many of his paintings, had left him after five years, ending a romance that coincided with one of Mr. Hockney’s most artistically fecund periods. — Deborah Solomon, New York Times, "Seeking the Real David Hockney Through Fact and Fiction," 11 June 2019 In that fecund little valley that divides our rational and and instinctive reactions to machines, Gannon’s work thrives. — James Vincent, The Verge, "Teaching robots body language offers common ground for humans and machines," 11 Nov. 2018 The fecund doctor, Donald Cline, has since admitted to lying to patients and using his own sperm to inseminate them. — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, "Fertility doc inseminated dozens of women with own sperm, DNA sites find," 31 Aug. 2018 The Marcellus Shale in Appalachia turned out to be larger and more fecund than the Barnett. — Russell Gold, WSJ, "The Texas Well That Started the Fracking Revolution," 29 June 2018 Meanwhile, my own fecund uterine years are slipping by. — Colter Jackson, New York Times, "Motherless, but Growing Toward the Light," 11 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fecund.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of fecund

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for fecund

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin fecundus — more at feminine

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More Definitions for fecund

fecund

adjective
How to pronounce fecund (audio) How to pronounce fecund (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of fecund

formal : producing or able to produce many babies, young animals, or plants

See the full definition for fecund in the English Language Learners Dictionary

fecund

adjective
fe·​cund | \ ˈfek-É™nd How to pronounce fecund (audio) , ˈfÄ“k- How to pronounce fecund (audio) \

Medical Definition of fecund

1 : characterized by having produced many offspring
2 : capable of producing : not sterile or barren

Other Words from fecund

fecundity \ fi-​ˈkÉ™n-​dÉ™t-​Ä“, fe-​ How to pronounce fecundity (audio) \ noun, plural fecundities

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