1
as in sterile
not able to produce fruit or offspring
an infertile cow is of limited use to a farmer
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in barren
producing inferior or only a small amount of vegetation
only parched, infertile fields remained after months of drought
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of infertile
Queen wasps can live up to a year, while worker wasps, infertile females that build and defend the nest, live two to three weeks.
—
Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 13 Oct. 2025
In 2023, while at Weill Cornell Medicine, Balbach helped drive the discovery that blocking another crucial sperm enzyme made mice temporarily infertile, initially raising the potential for a non-hormonal male birth control.
—Hannah Millington, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
The procedure is similar to one performed on infertile living men.
—Amelie Botbol, FOXNews.com, 5 Oct. 2025
Scientists have created human eggs containing genes from adult skin cells, a step that someday could help women who are infertile or gay couples have babies with their own genes but would also raise difficult ethical, social and legal issues.
—Rob Stein, NPR, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for infertile
Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 13 Oct. 2025
In 2023, while at Weill Cornell Medicine, Balbach helped drive the discovery that blocking another crucial sperm enzyme made mice temporarily infertile, initially raising the potential for a non-hormonal male birth control.
—Hannah Millington, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
The procedure is similar to one performed on infertile living men.
—Amelie Botbol, FOXNews.com, 5 Oct. 2025
Scientists have created human eggs containing genes from adult skin cells, a step that someday could help women who are infertile or gay couples have babies with their own genes but would also raise difficult ethical, social and legal issues.
—Rob Stein, NPR, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for infertile
Recent Examples of Synonyms for infertile
Adjective
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Scientists have discovered more than 6,000 exoplanets to date, but the majority of them are probably sterile worlds.—
Joanna Thompson,
Space.com,
28 Mar. 2026
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The ones sold on the market were supposed to be sterile, meaning the seeds in the fruits weren’t supposed to germinate and grow.—
Markis Hill,
Kansas City Star,
28 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Leeds actually had three shots extra in their more recent barren spell, 72 to 69, but the average quality of those shooting opportunities was lower.—
Beren Cross,
New York Times,
25 Mar. 2026
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On the drive out, the streets of New Orleans were barren.—
Daniel Brook,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Markets usually jammed with customers were desolate Friday, with some vendors loudly promoting their products in a desperate attempt to attract customers.—
Félix Márquez,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Mar. 2026
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Markets usually jammed with customers were desolate on Friday, with some vendors loudly promoting their products in a desperate attempt to attract customers.—
Boston Herald Wire Services,
Boston Herald,
28 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The Indian film follows an impoverished elderly couple whose developmentally disabled son has become a source of shame in their village.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
26 Mar. 2026
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The backstory The program began more than 60 years ago and typically provides medical aid to impoverished communities and rural, underserved areas — often in lower-resource countries like Angola, Guatemala and Venezuela but in some high-income countries as well.—
Gabrielle Emanuel,
NPR,
24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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And that 44-point home victory was with Brandon Miller having a poor shooting night (5 of 15, 13 points).—
Scott Fowler,
Charlotte Observer,
25 Mar. 2026
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The Dolphins’ struggles during the last decade-plus with Ross signing the checks was a result of poor leadership at the top of the football operations side.—
Omar Kelly,
Miami Herald,
24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Movies based on videogames, once unfertile IP for Hollywood at the box office, have blossomed in recent years.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
9 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Infertile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/infertile. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.
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