1
a
: failing to bear or incapable of producing fruit or spores
b
: failing to produce or incapable of producing offspring
a sterile hybrid
c
: incapable of germinating
sterile spores
d
of a flower
: neither perfect nor pistillate
2
a
: unproductive of vegetation
a sterile arid region
b
: free from living organisms and especially pathogenic microorganisms
a sterile syringe
c
: lacking in stimulating emotional or intellectual quality : lifeless
a sterile work of art
Examples of sterile in a Sentence
a sterile dressing for a wound
sterile couples sometimes choose to adopt needy children
Recent Examples on the Web
Throwing that history away in favor of a sterile Eastern and Western League concept would be short-sighted, self-defeating and unnecessary.
—
Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 7 Sep. 2025
Tomasz Naumiuk’s soup-thick cinematography is textured enough to see the sterile air of the film’s brutalist interiors, and to get lost in the hopeless void of the Warsaw streets at night.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 6 Sep. 2025
Dealing with the horrors of the situation in Gaza within the sterile environment of a call center, its workers are feeling increasingly hopeless, caught in the political crossfire of an escalating situation.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 3 Sep. 2025
For the first time, a technological tool seemed to truly understand us—not as a sterile database, but as a conversational partner.
—Avital Pardo, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sterile
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Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 7 Sep. 2025
Tomasz Naumiuk’s soup-thick cinematography is textured enough to see the sterile air of the film’s brutalist interiors, and to get lost in the hopeless void of the Warsaw streets at night.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 6 Sep. 2025
Dealing with the horrors of the situation in Gaza within the sterile environment of a call center, its workers are feeling increasingly hopeless, caught in the political crossfire of an escalating situation.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 3 Sep. 2025
For the first time, a technological tool seemed to truly understand us—not as a sterile database, but as a conversational partner.
—Avital Pardo, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sterile
Cite this Entry
“Sterile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sterile. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sterile
adjective
ster·ile
ˈster-əl 
1
: not able to produce fruit, crops, or offspring : not fertile
sterile soil
2
: free from microscopic living things and especially germs (as bacteria and viruses)
a sterile dressing for a wound
Medical Definition
sterile
adjective
ster·ile
ˈster-əl, chiefly British -ˌīl
1
: failing to produce or incapable of producing offspring
a sterile hybrid
compare infertile
2
: free from living organisms and especially microorganisms
a sterile syringe
a sterile cyst
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