Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Not producing or incapable of producing offspring.
- adjective Not producing or incapable of producing seed, fruit, spores, or other reproductive structures. Used of plants or their parts.
- adjective Producing little or no vegetation; unfruitful.
- adjective Free from live bacteria or other microorganisms.
- adjective Lacking imagination, creativity, or vitality.
- adjective Lacking the power to function; not productive or effective; fruitless.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Unfruitful; unproductive; not fertile.
- Barren; not reproducing its kind.
- In botany, of a flower, producing only stamens—that is, staminate or male (compare
neutral ); of a stamen, having no anther, or a functionless one; of an anther, without pollen; of an ovary, without perfect seeds; of a seed, without an embryo; of a frond, without sori. See cuts under Onoclea, Ophioglossum, sassafras, and smoke-tree. - Free from living germs.
- Leading to no results; fruitless; profitless; useless.
- Lacking richness of thought or expression; bald; bare: as, a sterile style; sterile verse.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Producing little or no crop; barren; unfruitful; unproductive; not fertile.
- adjective Incapable of reproduction; unfitted for reproduction of offspring; not able to germinate or bear fruit; unfruitful.
- adjective Free from reproductive spores or germs.
- adjective Fig.: Barren of ideas; destitute of sentiment.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective not comparable Unable to
reproduce (or procreate). - adjective
Unprofitable . - adjective
Germless ; free from all living or viable microorganisms.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective free of or using methods to keep free of pathological microorganisms
- adjective deficient in originality or creativity; lacking powers of invention
- adjective incapable of reproducing
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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For starters, he's put off by what he calls the sterile look of modern evangelical churches.
Latest Articles 2009
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It feels sterile to me but sterile is better in my view than some crime-ridden shithole.
Bethesda xtra 2009
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His hands touched the tools, glanced off the handle of a modified bone-saw that lay with its harsh circular blade submerged in sterile solution.
365 tomorrows » 2009 » September : A New Free Flash Fiction SciFi Story Every Day 2009
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I agree with the first name basis – many companies foister this as a way of making people feel they are part of the “Team” – but too often business relationships remain sterile first name or not.
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It feels sterile to me but sterile is better in my view than some crime-ridden shithole.
Archive 2009-04-01 xtra 2009
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Unlike the market-driven art featured in sterile, white box galleries, the work of Tokodi is meant to be touched, felt, and in turn touch you in the playful ways that her animated installations call to mind a more familiar, environmentally friendly state in the barren patches of urban existence.
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Burn victims, isolated in sterile rooms, later wincing in therapy as they learn to use their hands again, working through the pain.
Archive 2007-07-01 kittenpie 2007
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Loosely wrap the areas in sterile bandages and reach medical help.
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Unlike the market-driven art featured in sterile, white box galleries, the work of Tokodi is meant to be touched, felt, and in turn touch you in the playful ways that her animated installations call to mind a more familiar, environmentally friendly state in the barren patches of urban existence.
CLEAN GREEN LIVING GRAFFITI made from moss! | Inhabitat 2007
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Unlike the market-driven art featured in sterile, white box galleries, the work of Tokodi is meant to be touched, felt, and in turn touch you in the playful ways that her animated installations call to mind a more familiar, environmentally friendly state in the barren patches of urban existence.
2007 October | Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World 2007
jboyd commented on the word sterile
The positive connotation related to “clean” is apparently late—but powerful enough to make this word appear to fork into opposites.
April 10, 2020