: exhibiting or capable of movement
: a person whose prevailing mental imagery takes the form of inner feelings of action
Examples of motile in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Joseph Castro, Discover Magazine, 19 July 2011
Moreover, having normal semen volumes, sperm motility, sperm concentration, and total motile sperm counts are not guarantees of fertility.
—Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 21 June 2021
Some of the chloroplasts changed into more primitive, more motile proto-plastids that could get as small as 0.2 microns.
—Quanta Magazine, 20 Jan. 2021
Unencumbered by truth, the face becomes interesting, motile—a work of art.
—The New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2020
This process involves washing it to remove unwanted substances like non-motile sperm, white blood cells and prostaglandins (hormone-like chemicals that can cause painful cramping when deposited into the uterus).
—Christina Caron, New York Times, 18 Apr. 2020
In that Human Fertility study, only 37 percent of the sperm-containing precum samples had a fair amount of motile sperm, as in, ones that could make the journey toward an egg.
—Kasandra Brabaw, SELF, 7 Mar. 2019
For Mr. Alaïa, each stitch, every motile moment, has to have an integral (as opposed to decorative) reason for being.
—Vanessa Friedman, New York Times, 8 July 2017
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.
Adjective
Instead, the reduction in hormones and testes size only decreased the cichlids’ amount of motile sperm.
—Joseph Castro, Discover Magazine, 19 July 2011
Moreover, having normal semen volumes, sperm motility, sperm concentration, and total motile sperm counts are not guarantees of fertility.
—Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 21 June 2021
Some of the chloroplasts changed into more primitive, more motile proto-plastids that could get as small as 0.2 microns.
—Quanta Magazine, 20 Jan. 2021
Unencumbered by truth, the face becomes interesting, motile—a work of art.
—The New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2020
This process involves washing it to remove unwanted substances like non-motile sperm, white blood cells and prostaglandins (hormone-like chemicals that can cause painful cramping when deposited into the uterus).
—Christina Caron, New York Times, 18 Apr. 2020
In that Human Fertility study, only 37 percent of the sperm-containing precum samples had a fair amount of motile sperm, as in, ones that could make the journey toward an egg.
—Kasandra Brabaw, SELF, 7 Mar. 2019
For Mr. Alaïa, each stitch, every motile moment, has to have an integral (as opposed to decorative) reason for being.
—Vanessa Friedman, New York Times, 8 July 2017
Dictionary Entries Near motile
Cite this Entry
“Motile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/motile. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
motile
2 of 2 noun
: a person whose prevailing mental imagery is motor rather than visual or auditory and takes the form of inner feelings of action compare audile entry 1, tactile entry 2, visualizer
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share