📖 Dictionary

26984 words

sterile

6 definitions • 7 examples

1

(of a living being) unable to produce young, or (of land) unable to produce plants or crops:

Examples:

Mules are usually sterile.

One of the side effects of the drug could be to make men sterile.

2

having no imagination, new ideas, or energy:

Examples:

a sterile argument

3

completely clean and free from dirt and bacteria:

Examples:

The operation must be carried out under sterile conditions.

4

(of a person or animal) unable to produce young, or of land unable to produce plants or crops:

Examples:

It was a small oasis surrounded by sterile desert.

5

free from bacteria:

Examples:

Medical equipment must be kept sterile.

6

lacking in imagination, ideas, or enthusiasm:

Examples:

Suburban housing developments are often sterile environments.

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