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
Cases in Panama—mostly in cattle—skyrocketed from dozens a year to 1,000, despite ongoing drops of sterile flies.
—
Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic, 27 May 2025
The sterile backdrop of the bubble is best forgotten.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 17 May 2025
The rest of the film largely unfolds in sterile, windowless courtrooms as the terms of the clearly unethical (if apparently standard) agreement are reexamined, and the pressures of the trial strain the young couple’s relationship.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 28 May 2025
This means that any lander to set down, even briefly, on one of these moons would have to be completely sterile.
—Joshua Rapp Learn, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for sterile
Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic, 27 May 2025
The sterile backdrop of the bubble is best forgotten.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 17 May 2025
The rest of the film largely unfolds in sterile, windowless courtrooms as the terms of the clearly unethical (if apparently standard) agreement are reexamined, and the pressures of the trial strain the young couple’s relationship.
—Jessica Kiang, Variety, 28 May 2025
This means that any lander to set down, even briefly, on one of these moons would have to be completely sterile.
—Joshua Rapp Learn, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for sterile
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sterile
Adjective
-
For many of the faithful, the pilgrimage begins at a sacred mud volcano rising from the barren landscape near the Makran Coastal Highway.—
Zia ur-Rehman Asim Hafeez,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
-
The festival was deliberately planned for the barren weeks in June after college students left and before the summer concert and festival season kicked in.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
25 May 2025
Adjective
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In 2016, when the plight of a high school student who couldn’t afford sanitary pads using a shoe insole instead made national headlines, the city also added a program that gave underprivileged teenage girls cash for female hygiene products.—
Max Kim,
Los Angeles Times,
3 June 2025
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If a state legislature passes a law requiring its restaurants to maintain safe and sanitary conditions, its members are not sitting around deciding the correct food-storage temperatures.—
Paisley Currah,
New Yorker,
27 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sterile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sterile. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.
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