UNFERTILE Synonyms: 55 Similar and Opposite Words

unfertile

adjective

ˌən-ˈfər-tᵊl

Definition of unfertile

as in barren

producing inferior or only a small amount of vegetation struggling to make a living with the region's unfertile fields

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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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for unfertile

Adjective

Supposedly posing a threat to their idyll on the outskirts are various marauding splinter groups running amok through the barren wasteland of the American Mountain West.

— Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 25 Aug. 2026
Blackburn Rovers, Middlesbrough, Swansea City and Birmingham City, all now Championship clubs, have won silverware during Everton’s three barren decades.

— Patrick Boyland, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of barren

Adjective

The desolate landscape and little human occupation thereafter helped preserve the rock art through centuries of exposure to wind, rain, and sun.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Aug. 2026
In July 1991, Gerard Dorsey was gunned down in an alley off North Brice Street in a desolate West Baltimore alley.

— Mike Hellgren, CBS News, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of desolate

Adjective

About one-fifth of Florida’s impoverished elderly people live in the county, state records show.

— Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 21 Aug. 2026
Behind the scenes, this gritty, impoverished circus company wrestles with violence, illness and animal cruelty.

— Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of impoverished

Adjective

The petition argues Mays’ language during the trial revealed something deeper than a poor defense strategy — a worldview that dehumanized the man he was supposed to defend.

— Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026
There remains work to be done, as evidenced by their poor showing in last Thursday’s 41-17 preseason loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

— Elliott Teaford, Oc Register, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of poor

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unfeminine

unfertile

unfetter

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“Unfertile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unfertile. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of unfertile

adjective

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