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sterile - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'sterile' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Sterile [ a.]
- Producing little or no crop; barren; unfruitful; unproductive; not fertile; as, sterile land; a sterile desert; a sterile year.
- Incapable of reproduction; unfitted for reproduction of offspring; not able to germinate or bear fruit; unfruitful; as, a sterile flower, which bears only stamens.
- Free from reproductive spores or germs; as, a sterile fluid.
- Fig.: Barren of ideas; destitute of sentiment; as, a sterile production or author.

Meaning of 'sterile' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . sterile [ a]
Meaning (1):
- incapable of reproducing
Example in sentence:
  • an infertile couple
2 . sterile [ s]
Meaning (2):
- deficient in originality or creativity; lacking powers of invention
Example in sentence:
  • a sterile ideology lacking in originality;
  • unimaginative development of a musical theme;
  • uninspired writing
Meaning (3):
- free of or using methods to keep free of pathological microorganisms
Example in sentence:
  • a sterile operating area;
  • aseptic surgical instruments;
  • aseptic surgical techniques

Nearby Words:

stead steadfast steadfastly steadfastness steadied steadily steadiness steading steady steadying

See 'sterile' also in:

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Related Definitions

  • Sterile
    Sterile is free of living organisms.

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