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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
As part of the country's effort to fight screwworm encroachment, the USDA announced plans on June 18 to open a sterile fly dispersal facility in Texas, and invested $21 million in updating a plant in Mexico to produce sterile flies.
—
Karl Plume, USA Today, 1 July 2025
For burns, cool it with cool water followed by applying a dry sterile dressing over it.
—Omer Awan, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
Did the original idea for the Jor-El and Lara twist come from your reading of the John Byrne comic run where Krypton was cold and sterile, and Clark embraced Earth over Krypton?
—Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 20 July 2025
When Carol was revealed to be sterile, viewers were outraged.
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 20 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for sterile
Karl Plume, USA Today, 1 July 2025
For burns, cool it with cool water followed by applying a dry sterile dressing over it.
—Omer Awan, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
Did the original idea for the Jor-El and Lara twist come from your reading of the John Byrne comic run where Krypton was cold and sterile, and Clark embraced Earth over Krypton?
—Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 20 July 2025
When Carol was revealed to be sterile, viewers were outraged.
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 20 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for sterile
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sterile
Adjective
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Then there is Canada and Greenland’s beef over the uninhabited Hans Island, a barren spit in the Kennedy Channel.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
25 July 2025
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Brown, barren, patchy spots in your lawn can be unsightly.—
Cody Godwin,
USA Today,
24 July 2025
Adjective
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Airplane seatback pockets are one of the least sanitary places on a plane, but skipping them also means leaving yourself with limited storage space—until now.—
Merrell Readman,
Travel + Leisure,
20 July 2025
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In addition to Narcan, the machines also have socks, hand sanitizer, wipes and other sanitary items.—
Maya Wilkins,
Chicago Tribune,
19 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sterile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sterile. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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