as in barren
producing inferior or only a small amount of vegetation
struggling to make a living with the region's unfertile fields
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of unfertile
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
Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 9 June 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unfertile
Adjective
-
The missile flew northeast and then banked and began flying in loops for hours over the barren, frozen landscape.—
Geoff Brumfiel,
NPR,
18 June 2026
-
Some would eventually be moved to a cruise ship rented by the government, while others were stationed at nondescript military outposts that sprung up in the barren hills around the edges of Nuuk.—
Joshua Hunt,
Vanity Fair,
17 June 2026
Adjective
-
The flyer featured a photograph of the 31-year-old singer-songwriter on a desolate small-town street, behind the wheel of a vintage turquoise vehicle.—
Angie Martoccio,
Rolling Stone,
15 June 2026
-
Since the Bankhead and Livermore Cinema opened, a number of popular restaurants – including Zachary’s Pizza, Sauced BBQ and Spirits and Locanda Wine Bar have transformed a once-desolate block into a buzzing culinary destination.—
Martha Ross,
Mercury News,
4 June 2026
Adjective
-
Among the Cambodians to exploit the instability was Toek Tik, a once-impoverished former Khmer Rouge foot soldier whose confessions helped investigators substantiate some of their claims against Latchford.—
Oscar Holland,
CNN Money,
17 June 2026
-
And the people who got trapped behind—and who are now the impoverished mass of the remaining Cuban population—are the descendants of the slave population, or those who intermarried with the slave population.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
17 June 2026
Adjective
-
These conditions can increase your vulnerability to adverse effects from poor air quality.—
Southern California Weather Report,
Oc Register,
16 June 2026
-
Equating the Holocaust to Gaza is in extremely poor taste.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
16 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unfertile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unfertile. Accessed 22 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
