Synonyms of fertile

fertile

adjective

ˈfər-tᵊl 

as in prolific

producing abundantly

the fertile mind of Leonardo da Vinci explored art, architecture, engineering, mathematics, and many other fields

Synonyms & Similar Words

• prolific
• rich
• fecund
• fruitful
• productive
• lush
• generative
• creative
• luxuriant
• abundant
• inventive
• producing
• plentiful
• generous
• fat
• fructuous
• cornucopian
• bearing
• bountiful
• yielding
• thriving
• copious
• liberal
• flourishing
• original
• bursting
• blooming
• plenteous
• teeming
• abounding
• swarming
• plenitudinous

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• sterile
• barren
• infertile
• dead
• unproductive
• unfruitful
• unfertile
• sparse
• scanty
• meager
• scant
• spare
• skimpy
• meagre
• skimp

Synonym Chooser

How is the word fertile distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of fertile are fecund, fruitful, and prolific. While all these words mean "producing or capable of producing offspring or fruit," fertile implies the power to reproduce in kind or to assist in reproduction and growth; applied figuratively, it suggests readiness of invention and development.

fertile soil

a fertile imagination

Where would fecund be a reasonable alternative to fertile?

While the synonyms fecund and fertile are close in meaning, fecund emphasizes abundance or rapidity in bearing fruit or offspring.

a fecund herd

How is fruitful related to other words for fertile?

Fruitful adds to fertile and fecund the implication of desirable or useful results.

fruitful research

In what contexts can prolific take the place of fertile?

Although the words prolific and fertile have much in common, prolific stresses rapidity of spreading or multiplying by or as if by natural reproduction.

a prolific writer

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of fertile

The city is situated in a region with flat, fertile land near floodplains and hilly, forested areas close to the Missouri Ozarks. Shannon County, where Hubert was found, is about 2 hours and 45 minutes from Cape Girardeau. —Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 29 June 2025

Customers today don’t buy out of necessity, but for affinity, and this is a fertile land for a brand such as ours. —Luisa Zargani, Footwear News, 20 June 2025

So the human quest for fertilizer—substances to make the soil fertile—followed fast on the heels of agriculture itself. —Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 29 June 2025

In the Veneto region, vineyards stretch across gravelly river plains and fertile plains near the Adriatic Sea. —Joseph V Micallef, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025