Webster's English Dictionary

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sterile

ster.ile \'ster-*l, chiefly Brit -.i-l\ \st*-'ril-*t-e-\ aj [L sterilis; 
   akin to Goth stairo sterile, Gk steira] 1a: failing to produce or incapable 
   of producing offspring {a ~ hy brid} 1b: failing to bear or incapable of 
   producing fruit or spores  1c: incapable of germinating {~ spores}  of a 
   flower  1d: neither perfect nor pistillate  2a: unproductive of vegetation 
   {a ~ arid region}  2b: deficient in ideas or originality  2c: free from 
   living organisms and esp. microorganisms FERTILE mean lacking the power to 
   produce offspring or bear fruit. STERILE implies inability as through an 
   organic defect; BARREN stresses lack of issue or return for effort 
   expended; IMPOTENT implies lack of ability to perform the act of 
   procreation; UNFRUITFUL is less forceful than BARREN and applies more often 
   to land or to efforts that bring forth nothing worthwhile; INFERTILE 
   stresses the fact of sterility without suggesting the cause - ste.ril.i.ty 
   n SYN syn STERILE, BARREN, IMPOTENT, UNFRUITFUL, IN