sterile
ste·rile
adjective
1.
incapable of reproducing
- “an infertile couple”
2.
free of or using methods to keep free of pathological microorganisms
- “a sterile operating area”
- “aseptic surgical instruments”
- “aseptic surgical techniques”
3.
deficient in originality or creativity; lacking powers of invention
- “a sterile ideology lacking in originality”
- “unimaginative development of a musical theme”
- “uninspired writing”
Origin
From Middle French stérile, from Latin sterilis (“barren, futile”). See also Ancient Greek στεῖρα (steîra).
Phrases
- sterile antineutrino
- sterile neutrino
- sterile oat
Related words
Word family
See also
WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.