Synonyms of fertile

fertile

adjective

ˈfər-tᵊl 

as in prolific

producing abundantly

the fertile mind of Leonardo da Vinci explored art, architecture, engineering, mathematics, and many other fields

Synonyms & Similar Words

• prolific
• rich
• fecund
• fruitful
• productive
• lush
• generative
• creative
• luxuriant
• abundant
• inventive
• producing
• plentiful
• generous
• fat
• fructuous
• cornucopian
• bearing
• bountiful
• yielding
• thriving
• copious
• liberal
• flourishing
• original
• bursting
• blooming
• plenteous
• teeming
• abounding
• swarming
• plenitudinous

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• sterile
• barren
• infertile
• dead
• unproductive
• unfruitful
• unfertile
• sparse
• scanty
• meager
• scant
• spare
• skimpy
• meagre
• skimp

Synonym Chooser

How is the word fertile distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of fertile are fecund, fruitful, and prolific. While all these words mean "producing or capable of producing offspring or fruit," fertile implies the power to reproduce in kind or to assist in reproduction and growth; applied figuratively, it suggests readiness of invention and development.

fertile soil

a fertile imagination

Where would fecund be a reasonable alternative to fertile?

While the synonyms fecund and fertile are close in meaning, fecund emphasizes abundance or rapidity in bearing fruit or offspring.

a fecund herd

How is fruitful related to other words for fertile?

Fruitful adds to fertile and fecund the implication of desirable or useful results.

fruitful research

In what contexts can prolific take the place of fertile?

Although the words prolific and fertile have much in common, prolific stresses rapidity of spreading or multiplying by or as if by natural reproduction.

a prolific writer

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of fertile

What makes these fertile grounds for detective fiction? —The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 27 Dec. 2024

Where once oppression grew and proliferated under the horrors and injustices of slavery, where once the state of North Carolina literally dumped poison on the land, today Oakley Grove plantation is fertile with a new sustainable crop—hope. —Longreads, 18 Dec. 2024

In Gilead, women exist in complete subordination to men, especially the handmaids, a class of women who are still fertile despite an ongoing environmental catastrophe that has decimated birth rates. —Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 7 Dec. 2024

Millions of infections occurring around the world each year provides fertile ground for lots of errors. —Mark Kortepeter, Forbes, 25 Dec. 2024