1
as in barren
not able to produce fruit or offspring
sterile couples sometimes choose to adopt needy children the apple tree turned out to be sterile, never yielding a crop of apples
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2
as in sanitary
free from filth, infection, or dangers to health
the hospitals in the war-torn city often lack necessary drugs and sterile surgical supplies
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Recent Examples of sterile
The visual clash of serene pastoral meeting sterile corporate is remarkable.
—
Erin Qualey, Vulture, 31 Jan. 2025
Here, the sterile, ice-laden landscape is unforgiving and one mistake can cost you your life.
—Scott Haugen, Outdoor Life, 30 Jan. 2025
Now, in a small hospital where soft sobs echoed off the sterile linoleum floors, Aaron Easton, the boy Sara married who grew up to be Marysville’s police chief, explained what happened: Sara had shot herself in the head.
—Ariane Lange, Sacramento Bee, 26 Jan. 2025
Because isn’t that what effectively happens to an innie who will never again awaken in a sterile elevator?
—Judy Berman, TIME, 17 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for sterile 
Erin Qualey, Vulture, 31 Jan. 2025
Here, the sterile, ice-laden landscape is unforgiving and one mistake can cost you your life.
—Scott Haugen, Outdoor Life, 30 Jan. 2025
Now, in a small hospital where soft sobs echoed off the sterile linoleum floors, Aaron Easton, the boy Sara married who grew up to be Marysville’s police chief, explained what happened: Sara had shot herself in the head.
—Ariane Lange, Sacramento Bee, 26 Jan. 2025
Because isn’t that what effectively happens to an innie who will never again awaken in a sterile elevator?
—Judy Berman, TIME, 17 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for sterile
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Cite this Entry
“Sterile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sterile. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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