as in sterile
not able to produce fruit or offspring
disappointed to discover that the mare was unfruitful
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Recent Examples of unfruitful
Once home to more than 1,100 residents and boasting its own postal service, according to Visit Keweenaw, the unfruitful mine then saw the community dwindle, only a few historic homes now remaining.
—
Jenna Prestininzi, Freep.com, 31 Oct. 2025
That’s one investment that has proved rather unfruitful so far, although things appear to be looking up for WBD investors currently with company on the auction block and simultaneously preparing to separate its cable operations and studios/streaming into to companies.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 29 Oct. 2025
Homosexual life, by contrast, is one of unfruitful stasis and sterile repetition.
—Garth Greenwell, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
Trump too has aired frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent weeks as ceasefire talks have been unfruitful.
—The Hill Staff, The Hill, 5 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for unfruitful
Jenna Prestininzi, Freep.com, 31 Oct. 2025
That’s one investment that has proved rather unfruitful so far, although things appear to be looking up for WBD investors currently with company on the auction block and simultaneously preparing to separate its cable operations and studios/streaming into to companies.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 29 Oct. 2025
Homosexual life, by contrast, is one of unfruitful stasis and sterile repetition.
—Garth Greenwell, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
Trump too has aired frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent weeks as ceasefire talks have been unfruitful.
—The Hill Staff, The Hill, 5 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for unfruitful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unfruitful
Adjective
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Last week, as cases continued to spread in Tamaulipas, the USDA began releasing some sterile flies along the state’s border with Texas.—
Bloomberg Wire,
Dallas Morning News,
7 Feb. 2026
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Dell Children's had to build an area of the hospital that would have specialized airflow to maintain a sterile environment and keep viruses and bacteria out.—
Nicole Villalpando,
Austin American Statesman,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The Leafs’ priority at the trade deadline must be restocking their barren cupboards with high draft picks and intriguing prospects.—
Joshua Kloke,
New York Times,
4 Feb. 2026
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In 2016, a team led by Su Yinquan, dean of forestry at Northwest A&F University, leased 14 hectares of barren Gobi land in Xinjiang to test whether Duzhong could survive and grow there.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
31 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Coming off the most fruitless hiring cycle in terms of diversity the league has experienced in years, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell offered few solutions when asked about the matter at his annual state of the league Super Bowl news conference on Monday.—
Mike Jones,
New York Times,
3 Feb. 2026
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But cities and towns generate more than $900 million annually from taxing vehicles, and Connecticut Conference of Municipalities Executive Director Joe DeLong said any car tax elimination that didn’t replace that lost revenue would be fruitless.—
Keith M. Phaneuf,
Hartford Courant,
3 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unfruitful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unfruitful. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.
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