sterile : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: sterile	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for sterile
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
sterile adj incapable of reproducing; "an infertile couple" [syn: sterile, unfertile, infertile] Antonym(s): fertile free of or using methods to keep free of pathological microorganisms; "a sterile operating area"; "aseptic surgical instruments"; "aseptic surgical techniques" Synonym(s): aseptic, sterile deficient in originality or creativity; lacking powers of invention; "a sterile ideology lacking in originality"; "unimaginative development of a musical theme"; "uninspired writing" Synonym(s): sterile, unimaginative, uninspired, uninventive
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Sterile \Ster"ile\, a. [F. st[82]rile, L. sterilis, akin to Gr. stereo`s stiff, solid, stei^ros barren, stei^ra a cow that has not calved, Goth. stair[d3], fem., barren. See {Stare} to gaze.] 1. Producing little or no crop; barren; unfruitful; unproductive; not fertile; as, sterile land; a sterile desert; a sterile year. 2. (Biol.) (a) Incapable of reproduction; unfitted for reproduction of offspring; not able to germinate or bear fruit; unfruitful; as, a sterile flower, which bears only stamens. (b) Free from reproductive spores or germs; as, a sterile fluid. 3. Fig.: Barren of ideas; destitute of sentiment; as, a sterile production or author.