sterile
Pronunciation: /ˈstɛɹaɪl/
The English word “sterile” has 7 meanings listed here.
adjective
- Unable to reproduce (or procreate).
- Terse; lacking sentiment or emotional stimulation, as in a manner of speaking.
- Fruitless, uninspiring, or unproductive.
- Germless; free from all living or viable microorganisms.
- Permanently uninhabitable (as in a planet like Earth) to all life, including even microbes.
- Free from dangerous objects, as a zone in an airport that can be only be entered via a security checkpoint.
- Of weapons: foreign-made and untraceable to the United States.
Etymology
From Middle French stérile, from Latin sterilis (“barren, futile”). See also Ancient Greek στεῖρα (steîra).
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More English words
- sterigmate
- sterigmatic
- sterigmatocystin
- sterilant
- sterile antineutrino
- sterile neutrino
- sterile oat
- sterilely
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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.