sterile
adjective/ˈsteraɪl/
/ˈsterəl/
- (of humans or animals) not able to produce children or young animals synonym infertile compare fertileOxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
- be
- become
- remain
- …
- completely clean and free from bacteria
- sterile bandages
- Dilute the stock solution to 2.5% with sterile water.
Extra Examples- The experiment was performed under sterile conditions.
- This top fits over the bottle and keeps the teat sterile.
- All the equipment used is new and sterile.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- remain
- make something
- …
- completely
- under sterile conditions
- (of a discussion, an argument, etc.) not producing any useful result synonym fruitless
- We need to focus on solving the problem rather than continuing the sterile debate on how it came about.
Extra Examples- the increasingly sterile debate on constitutional reform
- Let us move on from sterile argument about things like the format of meetings towards real cooperation.
- not having individual personality, imagination or new ideas
- The room felt cold and sterile.
- He felt creatively and emotionally sterile.
Extra Examples- Their relationship had become sterile over the years.
- At forty-seven he was creatively and emotionally sterile.
- I found I was writing a completely sterile account of their life.
- I like things to look old and comfortable, not cold and sterile.
- To me, there is something very sterile about these hi-tech guitars.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- become
- very
- increasingly
- largely
- …
- (of land) not good enough to produce crops
Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French, or from Latin sterilis; related to Greek steira ‘barren cow’. Sense (2) dates from the late 19th cent.
Check pronunciation:
sterile