1
as in barren
not able to produce fruit or offspring
sterile couples sometimes choose to adopt needy children the apple tree turned out to be sterile, never yielding a crop of apples
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2
as in sanitary
free from filth, infection, or dangers to health
the hospitals in the war-torn city often lack necessary drugs and sterile surgical supplies
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Recent Examples of sterile
Urine culture: This involves transferring a small amount of urine to a sterile plate to see which type of bacteria grows.
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Matthew Wosnitzer, Verywell Health, 28 Feb. 2025
In this world, the severance procedure literally splits the mind into work and non-work compartments, resulting in employees who live dual existences: one governed by the sterile demands of corporate productivity and the other shrouded in personal mystery.
—Benjamin Laker, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
Like many other hybrid plants, African blue basil is sterile, which helps to explain its extravagant flowering; when a plant does not form seeds, there is more energy to devote purely to flowering.
—Joshua Siskin, Orange County Register, 14 Mar. 2025
This is a sterile, forgettable little movie that has quickly come to function more as a time capsule than a salient bit of commentary, but there’s something valuable about the sobriety of its perspective.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 14 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sterile
Matthew Wosnitzer, Verywell Health, 28 Feb. 2025
In this world, the severance procedure literally splits the mind into work and non-work compartments, resulting in employees who live dual existences: one governed by the sterile demands of corporate productivity and the other shrouded in personal mystery.
—Benjamin Laker, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025
Like many other hybrid plants, African blue basil is sterile, which helps to explain its extravagant flowering; when a plant does not form seeds, there is more energy to devote purely to flowering.
—Joshua Siskin, Orange County Register, 14 Mar. 2025
This is a sterile, forgettable little movie that has quickly come to function more as a time capsule than a salient bit of commentary, but there’s something valuable about the sobriety of its perspective.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 14 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sterile
Cite this Entry
“Sterile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sterile. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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