Meaning of STERILE
| Pronunciation: | | 'sterIl
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 WordNet Dictionary |
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- [adj] deficient in originality or creativity; lacking powers of invention:i"a sterile ideology lacking in originality"; "unimaginative development of a musical theme"; "uninspired writing"
- [adj] not bearing offspring; "a barren woman"; "learned early in his marriage that he was sterile"
- [adj] free of or using methods to keep free of pathological microorganisms; "a sterile operating area"; "aseptic surgical instruments"; "aseptic surgical techniques"
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| | Synonyms: | | antiseptic, aseptic, barren, infertile, uncreative, unfertile, unimaginative, uninspired, uninventive |
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| Webster's 1913 Dictionary |
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| | Definition: | | \Ster"ile\, a. [F. st['e]rile, L. sterilis, akin to Gr.
stereo`s stiff, solid, stei^ros barren, stei^ra a cow that
has not calved, Goth. stair[=o], fem., barren. See {Stare} to
gaze.]
1. Producing little or no crop; barren; unfruitful;
unproductive; not fertile; as, sterile land; a sterile
desert; a sterile year.
2. (Biol.)
(a) Incapable of reproduction; unfitted for reproduction
of offspring; not able to germinate or bear fruit;
unfruitful; as, a sterile flower, which bears only
stamens.
(b) Free from reproductive spores or germs; as, a sterile
fluid.
3. Fig.: Barren of ideas; destitute of sentiment; as, a
sterile production or author.
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| Medical Dictionary |
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| | Definition: | | Unable to produce children. |
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