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
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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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Create Pools of Light Harsh, piercing lights tend to feel more sterile than serene.—
Shagun Khare,
The Spruce,
15 Feb. 2026
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Using this technique, the government is breeding sterile, non-infected, male flies at a facility in Panama.—
Ciara McCarthy,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The few remaining individuals live in barren, rugged terrain at high elevations.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
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In other games during the barren run, chances have been created and squandered.—
Andy Naylor,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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While Scarry’s books present such catastrophes with bright colors and good humor, Gomez undermines this cheer by superimposing on the mural a nearly all-black painting of a desolate tent encampment in front of a home destroyed by the Eaton fire.—
Sharon Mizota,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Feb. 2026
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The clash of beauty and filth is well suited for Brontë’s desolate tale of romance in a tempestuous climate, where Cathy is constantly caught between Victorian propriety and her baser, wilder nature.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Pilgrims also threw in coins as offerings, some later retrieved by impoverished people to survive.—
Norma Meyer,
Oc Register,
4 Feb. 2026
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The penultimate episode saw Deathclaws descending on Freeside, an impoverished community on the fringes of New Vegas.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Policymakers globally are increasingly worried that the unequal adoption of AI risks widening income and development gaps between rich and poor countries.—
Hanna Ziady,
CNN Money,
18 Feb. 2026
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In November, Jesse Jackon was hospitalized again after suffering a fall while protesting poor campus living conditions with students at Howard University.—
Mary Kekatos,
ABC News,
17 Feb. 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 20 Feb. 2026.
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