sterile

Study(17)

UK /ˈstɛɹaɪl/ US /ˈstɛɹəl/

adj 5

Collocations

(adj.) completely clean

VERBS

be | become | remain | make sth

keep sth

The hospital staff use special covers to keep all the surgical instruments sterile before operations.

ADV

completely | virtually

(adj.) not able to produce young animals/babies

VERBS

be | become | remain | leave sb, make sb

ADV

permanently

The accident left him permanently sterile, ending any hope of becoming a father.

(adj.) with no interest or life

VERBS

become, grow

The conversation became sterile after they stopped sharing their true feelings with each other.

ADV

very

increasingly

The conversation between them had become increasingly sterile, lacking any real warmth or meaningful exchange.

largely | rather, somewhat

Definitions

adj

Unable to reproduce (or procreate).

According to that Cabaliſticall Dogma: If Abram had not had this Letter [i.e., ה (he)] added unto his Name he had remained fruitleſſe, and without the power of generation: […] So that being ſterill before, he received the power of generation from that meaſure and manſion in the Archetype; and was made conformable unto Binah.

Terse; lacking sentiment or emotional stimulation, as in a manner of speaking.

Fruitless, uninspiring, or unproductive.

Germless; free from all living or viable microorganisms.

a sterile kitchen table

Permanently uninhabitable (as in a planet like Earth) to all life, including even microbes.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

adjective — deficient in originality or creativity

unimaginative
uninspired
uninventive

adjective — incapable of reproducing

unfertile
infertile

adjective — free of or using methods to keep free of pathological microo

aseptic

Antonyms

fertile

Idioms & Phrases

Example Bank

Wiktionary

a sterile kitchen table

Wiktionary

An early CIA decision was to bring war surplus in Europe to the United States, rather than let it fall into the hands of left-wing movements. Some of the guns would also, it was reasoned, be useful as

Wiktionary

I'm sterile.

Tatoeba · #318667

I cannot get pregnant. I am sterile.

Tatoeba · #1682425

His country is censored the world over, so that outsiders would not see the industrial pollution and the huge sterile apartment blocks therein.

Tatoeba · #1875550

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, sterile is marked as figuratively. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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