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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Few seem to like this trend, and many social media users have compiled images to show the comparison between the colorful, mascot-heavy logos of the past and the sterile, bland logos that have replaced them.
—
Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 24 Aug. 2025
The male flies were raised at a sterile insect-rearing facility in Los Alamitos, officials added.
—Caelyn Pender, Mercury News, 22 Aug. 2025
Cold, sterile, and boring are often terms the design style might invoke, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.
—Patricia Shannon, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Aug. 2025
But the factory, inspectors found, had no procedures to prevent the contamination of sterile drugs, according to the report.
—Megan Rose, ProPublica, 12 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sterile
Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 24 Aug. 2025
The male flies were raised at a sterile insect-rearing facility in Los Alamitos, officials added.
—Caelyn Pender, Mercury News, 22 Aug. 2025
Cold, sterile, and boring are often terms the design style might invoke, but this couldn’t be further from the truth.
—Patricia Shannon, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Aug. 2025
But the factory, inspectors found, had no procedures to prevent the contamination of sterile drugs, according to the report.
—Megan Rose, ProPublica, 12 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sterile
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sterile
Adjective
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Those fleeting, vibrant days are the perfect time for hiking through a mix of wooded mountainside, barren volcanic landscapes, and marshland, with stops at some of Japan’s most rustic hot springs.—
Rob Goss,
AFAR Media,
26 Aug. 2025
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Whether nestled in lush forests or barren deserts, these towns bear the scars of time, showcasing human ingenuity while reminding us of the inevitability of decay.—
Kieron Marchese,
Architectural Digest,
25 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The sanitary sewer overflow released an additional 131 million gallons.—
Caitlin Looby,
jsonline.com,
22 Aug. 2025
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However, in March approximately 10,000 gallons of wastewater was mistakenly released by contractors of the sewerage district into a storm sewer rather than the sanitary sewer.—
Caitlin Looby,
jsonline.com,
15 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sterile.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sterile. Accessed 4 Sep. 2025.
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