STERILE: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for STERILE?

Need another word that means the same as “sterile”? Find 36 synonyms and 30 related words for “sterile” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Sterile” are: infertile, unfertile, aseptic, unimaginative, uninspired, uninventive, unproductive, unfruitful, uncultivatable, pointless, profitless, fruitless, unrewarding, abortive, unsuccessful, ineffectual, ineffective, worthless, useless, unprofitable, futile, vain, idle, uninspiring, unoriginal, derivative, stale, lifeless, musty, sterilized, antiseptic, uninfected, uncontaminated, unpolluted, pure, clean

Sterile as an Adjective

Definitions of "Sterile" as an adjective

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “sterile” as an adjective can have the following definitions:

• Free of or using methods to keep free of pathological microorganisms.
• Lacking in imagination, creativity, or excitement; uninspiring or unproductive.
• (of a plant) not able to produce fruit or seeds.
• Deficient in originality or creativity; lacking powers of invention.
• Incapable of reproducing.
• (of land or soil) too poor in quality to produce crops.
• Not able to produce children or young.
• Free from bacteria or other living microorganisms; totally clean.

Synonyms of "Sterile" as an adjective (36 Words)

abortive	(of an organ or organism) rudimentary; arrested in development. An abortive revolt.
antiseptic	Thoroughly clean and free of or destructive to disease-causing organisms. Lyrics as antiseptic as Sunday School.
aseptic	(of surgical practice) aiming at the complete exclusion of harmful microorganisms. Aseptic surgical techniques.
clean	Free from dirt or impurities or having clean habits. The room was spotlessly clean.
derivative	Originating from, based on, or influenced by. A highly derivative prose style.
fruitless	(of a tree or plant) not producing fruit. A banana leaf from a fruitless palm.
futile	Unproductive of success. It is futile to allocate blame for this.
idle	Without purpose or effect; pointless. An idle mind.
ineffective	Not producing an intended effect. An ineffective teacher.
ineffectual	Not producing an intended effect. The therapy was ineffectual.
infertile	(of land) unable to sustain crops or vegetation. An infertile couple.
lifeless	Devoid of living things. Dull and lifeless hair.
musty	Lacking freshness or vitality; old-fashioned. A dark musty library.
pointless	Not having a point especially a sharp point. Speculating like this is a pointless exercise.
profitless	Without profit or reward. Let us have no part in profitless quarrels.
pure	Of color being chromatically pure not diluted with white or grey or black. Pure and vestal modesty.
stale	(of food) no longer fresh and pleasant to eat; hard, musty, or dry. The beer was stale.
sterilized	Made free from bacteria or other living microorganisms. Sterilized pets are often easier to train.
uncontaminated	Not contaminated. Uncontaminated air and food.
uncultivatable	Not suitable for cultivation or tilling.
unfertile	Incapable of reproducing.
unfruitful	Not fruitful; not conducive to abundant production. The meeting was unfruitful.
unimaginative	Deficient in originality or creativity; lacking powers of invention. The audience proved sluggish and unimaginative.
uninfected	Free from sepsis or infection. A clean or uninfected wound.
uninspired	Having no intellectual or emotional or spiritual excitement. The production was professional but uninspired.
uninspiring	Not producing excitement or interest. An uninspiring game that United scarcely deserved to win.
uninventive	Not showing creativity or original thought. The oils were sensitively painted but uninventive in design.
unoriginal	Lacking originality; derivative. An uninteresting and unoriginal essay.
unpolluted	Free from admixture with noxious elements; clean. Her mind remains unpolluted by the filth they teach her.
unproductive	Not producing desired results. Unproductive meetings.
unprofitable	(of a business or activity) not yielding profit or financial gain. There has been much unprofitable speculation.
unrewarding	Not rewarding; not providing personal satisfaction. It was dull unrewarding work.
unsuccessful	Not successful. An unsuccessful attempt to enter Parliament.
useless	Having no ability or skill in a specified activity or area. A piece of useless knowledge.
vain	Producing no result; useless. Their flattery made him vain.
worthless	Having no real value or use. A worthless idler.

Usage Examples of "Sterile" as an adjective

• The disease had made him sterile.
• A sterile needle and syringes.
• Vast tracts of sterile desert land.
• The peppermints are vigorous sterile hybrids.
• He found the fraternity's teachings sterile.
• A sterile operating area.
• A sterile ideology lacking in originality.

Associations of "Sterile" (30 Words)

abort	Carry out or undergo the abortion of a fetus. An aborting fetus.
abortion	The expulsion of a fetus from the uterus by natural causes before it is able to survive independently. Illegal abortions.
abortive	Failing to accomplish an intended result. An abortive revolt.
arid	Lacking in interest, excitement, or meaning. His arid years in suburbia.
baby	Treat someone as a baby pamper or be overprotective towards. It sounds simple but when you have your own baby it is all so different.
barren	A barren tract or tracts of land. The room was barren of furniture.
devoid	Completely wanting or lacking. The sentence was devoid of meaning.
embryo	The part of a seed which develops into a plant consisting in the mature embryo of a higher plant of a plumule a radicle and one or two cotyledons. A simple commodity economy is merely the embryo of a capitalist economy.
expanse	The distance to which something expands or can be expanded. The green expanse of the forest.
fruitless	Unproductive of success. A fruitless search.
futile	Producing no result or effect. Futile years after her artistic peak.
impotence	An inability (usually of the male animal) to copulate. People speak constantly of their social and political impotence.
ineffective	Not producing an intended effect. The legal sanctions against oil spills are virtually ineffective.
ineffectual	Lacking in power or forcefulness. An ineffectual campaign.
infertile	(of land) unable to sustain crops or vegetation. Infertile couples are offered specialist advice.
infertility	Inability to conceive children or young. A couple undergoing infertility treatment.
insemination	The act of sowing (of seeds in the ground or, figuratively, of germs in the body or ideas in the mind, etc. We performed 224 inseminations on 48 females.
interbreed	(of an animal) inbreed. These species do not interbreed.
miscarriage	An unsuccessful outcome of something planned. Some pregnancies result in miscarriage.
miscarry	Suffer a miscarriage. Such a rash crime and one so very likely to miscarry.
pregnancy	The state of being pregnant; the period from conception to birth when a woman carries a developing fetus in her uterus. The first weeks of pregnancy.
pregnant	Carrying developing offspring within the body or being about to produce new life. She was six months pregnant.
stark	Stiff, rigid, or incapable of movement. A human body lying stiff and stark by the stream.
sterility	The state of being unable to produce offspring; in a woman it is an inability to conceive; in a man it is an inability to impregnate. The disease can cause sterility in males.
stillborn	(of an infant) born dead. A stillborn plot to assassinate the President.
unavailable	Not able to be used or obtained; not at someone’s disposal. The men were unavailable for work.
unfruitful	Not producing good or helpful results; unproductive. The meeting was unfruitful.
unproductive	(of an activity or period) not achieving much; not very useful. Unproductive meetings.
unsuccessful	Failing to accomplish an intended result. An unsuccessful attempt to enter Parliament.
windswept	(of a place) exposed to strong winds. The windswept moors.