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sterility

 - 7 dictionary results
Treatment For Infertility
Expert Fertility Treatments.Over 25 Years. Located in MD, DC, & No. VA.
www.givf.com
Fertility
Relax. Take a deep breath. We have the answers you seek.
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ster⋅ile

  [ster-il or, especially Brit., -ahyl]
–adjective
1. free from living germs or microorganisms; aseptic: sterile surgical instruments.
2. incapable of producing offspring; not producing offspring.
3. barren; not producing vegetation: sterile soil.
4. Botany.
a. noting a plant in which reproductive structures fail to develop.
b. bearing no stamens or pistils.
5. not productive of results, ideas, etc.; fruitless.
Use sterility in a Sentence
Origin:
1545–55; < L sterilis unfruitful

Related forms:
ster⋅ile⋅ly, adverb
ste⋅ril⋅i⋅ty  [stuh-ril-i-tee] , ster⋅ile⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
2. infecund, unfruitful.

Antonyms:
2, 3. fertile.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To sterility
Treatment For Infertility
Expert Fertility Treatments.Over 25 Years. Located in MD, DC, & No. VA.
www.givf.com
Fertility
Relax. Take a deep breath. We have the answers you seek.
www.RightHealth.com
ster·ile   (stěr'əl, -īl')   
adj.  

  1. Not producing or incapable of producing offspring.

    1. Not producing or incapable of producing seed, fruit spores, or other reproductive structures. Used of plants or their parts.

    2. Producing little or no vegetation; unfruitful: sterile land.

  3. Free from live bacteria or other microorganisms: a sterile operating area; sterile instruments.

  4. Lacking imagination, creativity, or vitality.

  5. Lacking the power to function; not productive or effective; fruitless: a sterile discussion.


[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin sterilis.]
ster'ile·ly adv., ster'ile·ness, ste·ril'i·ty (stə-rĭl'ĭ-tē) n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

sterile 
1426, "barren" (implied in sterility), from M.Fr. stérile "not producing fruit," from L. sterilis "barren, unproductive," from PIE *ster- "sterile, barren" originally "stiff, rigid" (cf. Gk. steresthai "be deprived of," steira "sterile," stereos "firm, solid, stiff, hard;" Skt. starih "a barren cow;" O.C.S. sterica "a barren cow;" Goth. stairo "barren;" O.N. stirtla "a barren cow"). See torpor. Originally in Eng. with ref. to soil; of females, from 1535. The sense of "sterilized" is first recorded 1877. Sterilize "destroy the fertility of" is from 1695 (in ref. to soil); of living things from 1828. Meaning "render free of microorganisms" is from 1878. Sterilization is from 1874.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ster·ile
Pronunciation: 'ster-&l, chiefly Brit -"Il
Function: adjective
1 : failing to produce or incapable ofproducing offspring sterile hybrid> —compare INFERTILE
2 : free from livingorganisms and especially microorganisms sterile cyst> —ster·ile·ly /-&l-(l)E/ adverb —ste·ril·i·ty /st&-'ril-&t-E/ noun plural -ties
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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sterile ster·ile (stěr'əl, -īl')
adj.

  1. Not producing or incapable of producing offspring.

  2. Free from all live bacteria or other microorganisms and their spores.

ster'ile·ness or ste·ril'i·ty (stə-rĭl'ĭ-tē) n.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Science Dictionary
sterile   (stěr'əl, stěr'īl')  Pronunciation Key 

  1. Not able to produce offspring, seeds, or fruit; unable to reproduce.

  2. Free from disease-causing microorganisms.


sterility noun (stə-rĭl'ĭ-tē)
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia

sterility

the inability of a couple to conceive and reproduce. Infertility is defined as the failure to conceive after one year of regular intercourse without contraception or the inability of a woman to carry a pregnancy to a live birth. Infertility can affect either the male or the female and can result from a number of causes. About 1 in every 10 couples is infertile, or somewhere between 10 and 15 percent of the population

Learn more about sterility with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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