sterile
adjective
ster·ile
| \ ˈster-əl
, chiefly British -ˌī(-ə)l\
, chiefly British -ˌī(-ə)l\
Definition of sterile
1a
: failing to bear or incapable of producing fruit or spores
b
: failing to produce or incapable of producing offspring
a sterile hybrid
c
: incapable of germinating
sterile spores
d
of a flower
: neither perfect nor pistillate
2a
: unproductive of vegetation
a sterile arid region
b
: free from living organisms and especially pathogenic microorganisms
a sterile syringe
c
: lacking in stimulating emotional or intellectual quality : lifeless
a sterile work of art
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Other Words from sterile
sterilely
\ ˈster-ə(l)-lē
, chiefly British -ˌī(-ə)(l)-lē \
adverb
, chiefly British -ˌī(-ə)(l)-lē \
adverb
sterility
\ stə-ˈri-lə-tē
\
noun
\
noun
Synonyms & Antonyms for sterile
Synonyms
barren, fruitless, impotent, infertile, unfruitful
Antonyms
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Examples of sterile in a Sentence
a sterile dressing for a wound
sterile couples sometimes choose to adopt needy children
Recent Examples on the Web
Soon, laughter filled his room, a sterile space with few touches of home. — New York Times, "‘My World Has Now Stopped’: How One Family Is Recovering From a Mass Shooting," 31 Aug. 2019 Vaccination could cause blood poisoning; this was not intuitive in the age before germ theory but is no surprise to us today, as cowpox pus was harvested under far from sterile conditions and often harboured farmyard bacteria. — The Economist, "The original anti-vaxxers," 30 Aug. 2019 Another pillar: acupuncture; she’s been getting as many as four treatments per month for 20 years, both electro-acupuncture through adhesive pads and sterile needles. — Matt Fuchs, Washington Post, "Be like Serena and Roger: Older amateurs offer tips for maintaining your athletic edge.," 26 Aug. 2019 Across the hall was a dental office, with a reclining chair and sterile instruments. — oregonlive.com, "The ICE chief called family detention ‘summer camp. Here’s what it looks like inside," 25 Aug. 2019 Another way to keep a plant flowering is to give it sterile flowers. — Adrian Higgins, Houston Chronicle, "Growers set their sights on developing re-bloomers for the garden," 21 Aug. 2019 Sports In the future, NFL teams won't play in sterile concrete bowls. — Jason Parham, WIRED, "Depth of Field: Where Is Jay-Z Taking the NFL?," 15 Aug. 2019 The next important step will be to try to shift these cells back to something like a sterile version of their native environment to ensure that the strange features of MK-D1 are its normal state and not just a response to the culture conditions. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "We’ve finally gotten a look at the microbe that might have been our ancestor," 7 Aug. 2019 Blocking inflammation in mice living in sterile cages may reduce cancer, but a similar strategy in people in the real world could limit defenses against infections because inflammation is part of our immune response. — Robert Gatenby, Scientific American, "Darwin’s Ideas on Evolution Drive a Radical New Approach to Cancer Drug Use," 3 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sterile.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for sterile
sterile
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of sterile
: not able to produce crops or plants
: not able to produce children, young animals, etc.
: not able to grow or develop
See the full definition for sterile in the English Language Learners Dictionary
sterile
adjective
ster·ile
| \ ˈster-əl
\
\
Kids Definition of sterile
1
: not able to produce fruit, crops, or offspring : not fertile
sterile soil
2
: free from living germs
a sterile bandage
sterile
adjective
ster·ile
| \ ˈster-əl, chiefly British -ˌīl\
Medical Definition of sterile
1
: failing to produce or incapable of producing offspring
a sterile hybrid
— compare infertile
2
: free from living organisms and especially microorganisms
a sterile syringe a sterile cyst
Other Words from sterile
sterilely
\ -əl-(l)ē
\
adverb
\
adverb
sterility
\ stə-ˈril-ət-ē
\
noun,
plural sterilities
\
noun,
plural sterilities