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
After a brief and unfruitful stint as a scout for the major league Milwaukee Brewers in the early 1970s, Uecker moved to the radio booth.
—
Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 16 Jan. 2025
Some new grads have expressed frustration with lengthy and unfruitful job searches and questioned whether their work earning a degree was worth it.
—Jamie Merisotis, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024
But the chances of the conviction being overturned are slim, and the decision to fight the charges against him to the bitter end—in contrast to Ellison and the other coconspirators—may continue to prove an unfruitful one.
—Joel Khalili, WIRED, 24 Sep. 2024
One social media user argued that, despite her own decision not to listen to Brown’s music, his critics’ efforts to deter others to do the same have largely proven unfruitful.
—Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for unfruitful
Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 16 Jan. 2025
Some new grads have expressed frustration with lengthy and unfruitful job searches and questioned whether their work earning a degree was worth it.
—Jamie Merisotis, Forbes, 30 Oct. 2024
But the chances of the conviction being overturned are slim, and the decision to fight the charges against him to the bitter end—in contrast to Ellison and the other coconspirators—may continue to prove an unfruitful one.
—Joel Khalili, WIRED, 24 Sep. 2024
One social media user argued that, despite her own decision not to listen to Brown’s music, his critics’ efforts to deter others to do the same have largely proven unfruitful.
—Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for unfruitful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unfruitful
Adjective
-
The sterile cockpit rule prohibits pilots from engaging in conversations unrelated to operating the aircraft when flying below 10,000 feet.—
Scott Fowler,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Sep. 2025
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These aren’t sterile operations run by committees.—
Joel Goldstein,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The team wasn’t able to completely rule out that TRAPPIST-1e is a barren rock like its inner siblings, however, partly because of interference from its hyperactive star.—
Jonathan O'Callaghan,
Scientific American,
8 Sep. 2025
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The local Rite Aid was getting ready to shut down, with barren shelves and 75% off all items, while commerce elsewhere in the town of less than 3,000 people wasn’t exactly bustling.—
David Mark,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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After six largely fruitless seasons in New York, Jones looked like — whisper — one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL in Week 1, dicing up the Dolphins for 272 yards and three total TDs.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
12 Sep. 2025
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The two had met many times before in talks that often proved fruitless.—
Oren Liebermann,
CNN Money,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unfruitful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unfruitful. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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