sterilester‧ile /ˈsteraɪl $ -rəl/ adjective 
Radiotherapy has left her permanently sterile.2completely clean and not containing any bacteria that might cause infectionsterile equipment/water/bandages etc Rinse the eye with sterile water.► see thesaurus at clean3lacking new ideas, interest, or imagination OPP productivesterile argument/debate etc the increasingly sterile debate on political reform4a sterile building, room etc is not interesting or attractive and is often very plain: The classrooms are sterile, with no artwork on the walls.5sterile land cannot be used to grow crops SYN barren—sterility /stəˈrɪləti/ noun [uncountable]
WORD ORIGINsterile
Origin:
1400-1500 Latin sterilisEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- a sterile laboratory
- a sterile, meaningless relationship
- a group of sterile skyscrapers
- Giving blood is perfectly safe. All equipment is sterile, used once and thrown away.
- Red Cross officials say they are running short of disinfectant and sterile bandages.
- Some women who used the birth control device became sterile.
- Susan thought that her illness had made her sterile.
- During the sterile Eighties, we overdosed on design and killed freedom of expression.
- In a sterile world casein would be nearly an ideal glue.
- It lost to a politicized plan, which resulted in the sterile towers and hidden plazas that now mark Bunker Hill.
- The floors of old-growth forests tend to be fairly sterile because overhead canopies of leaves prevent light from reaching the ground.
- There are even sterile controls for the piped music.
- They are native to dry and sterile regions.
- This does not, however, render the question of social origins of state personnel, such as bureaucrats, sterile.
THESAURUS
without any dirt or marks: · They need clean water to drink.· I don’t have any clean clothes.
water or air that is pure does not contain any dirt, pollution, or bacteria: · I breathed in the pure mountain air.
completely clean, with no bacteria, and therefore safe for medical or scientific use: · Place a sterile bandage on the wound.· sterile needles
completely clean – used mainly about rooms and clothes: · Her kitchen is always spotless.
completely clean and new-looking: · He wore a pristine white shirt.
as clean and tidy as it is possible to be: · The soldiers’ uniforms have to be immaculate.
[not before noun] informal clean and tidy, especially after having just been cleaned: · By the end of the day, the whole place was spick and span.
Longman Language Activatorto be unable to have babies · The doctor told the couple that they were unable to have children.
unable to have babies - used especially about women: · New medical techniques provide hope for infertile couples.
unable to have babies or to be the father of a baby, especially when this is a permanent condition: · Susan thought that her illness had made her sterile.
completely clean so that diseases cannot spread · Three out of five people in developing countries have no easy access to clean water.· The department is responsible for maintaining the bedrooms and public rooms in a clean and sanitary condition.
water or air that is pure is completely clean and does not contain anything harmful such as dirt or bacteria: · It felt good to get away from the city and breathe in some pure mountain air.· The water in the lake is so pure you can drink it.
extremely clean so that diseases are unlikely to spread: · Cleansall kills germs as well, leaving your kitchen clean and hygienic.hygienic conditions: · Meat products must always be kept in hygienic conditions.
completely clean, free from bacteria, and safe for medical or scientific purposes: · Red Cross officials say they are running short of disinfectant and sterile bandages.· Giving blood is perfectly safe. All equipment is sterile, used once and thrown away.
WORD SETSafterbirth, nounantenatal, adjectiveartificial insemination, nounbaby blues, nounbarren, adjectivebarrier method, nounbear, verbbirth control, nounbreast-feed, verbbreech birth, nouncaesarean, nouncap, nounchildbearing, nounchildbirth, nounconceive, verbconfinement, nouncontraception, nouncontraction, nounC-section, noundeliver, verbdelivery, noundiaphragm, nounDutch cap, nounembryo, nounembryology, nouneugenics, nounfamily planning, nounfertility, nounfertility drug, nounfertilize, verbfetal, adjectivefetus, nounfoetal position, nounfoetus, nounfull-term, adjectivegestation, noungonad, nounincubator, nouninduce, verbinduction, nouninfant mortality rate, nouninfertile, adjectiveIUD, nounIVF, nounmaternal, adjectivematernity, nounmidwife, nounmidwifery, nounmilk, nounmiscarriage, nounmiscarry, verbmorning-after pill, nounmorning sickness, nounmother-to-be, nounmum-to-be, nounnatal, adjectivenatural, adjectivenatural childbirth, nounneuter, verbnurse, verbobstetrics, nounoral contraceptive, nounoviduct, nounovulate, verbovum, nounperinatal, adjectivepostnatal, adjectivepreemie, nounpregnancy, nounpregnant, adjectivepremature, adjectivepresentation, nounprocreate, verbproduce, verbquickening, nounreproduce, verbreproduction, nounreproductive, adjectiverhythm method, nounspay, verbsterile, adjectivesterilize, verbstillbirth, nounstillborn, adjectivestretch mark, nounsurrogate mother, nounswaddle, verbswaddling clothes, nountermination, nountest-tube baby, nountrimester, nounultrasound, nounumbilical cord, noununborn, adjectivewean, verbzygote, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Radiotherapy has left her permanently sterile. Rinse the eye with sterile water. the increasingly sterile debate on political reformCOLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN
1a person or animal that is sterile cannot produce babies SYN infertile OPP fertilemake/render/leave somebody sterile Radiotherapy has left her permanently sterile. Rinse the eye with sterile water. the increasingly sterile debate on political reform· Roy Hattersley's simultaneous resignation as deputy leader also opens up the increasingly sterile debate on constitutional reform.· This threatens to become a sterile debate, but there are ways to make progress.· Legal theory has long been bedevilled by a sterile debate between positivists and natural lawyers.
Radiotherapy has left her permanently sterile.2completely clean and not containing any bacteria that might cause infectionsterile equipment/water/bandages etc Rinse the eye with sterile water.► see thesaurus at clean3lacking new ideas, interest, or imagination OPP productivesterile argument/debate etc the increasingly sterile debate on political reform4a sterile building, room etc is not interesting or attractive and is often very plain: The classrooms are sterile, with no artwork on the walls.5sterile land cannot be used to grow crops SYN barren—sterility /stəˈrɪləti/ noun [uncountable]