infertile

[ in-fur-tlor, especially British, -tahyl ]

adjective

1. not fertile; unproductive; sterile; barren:

   infertile soil.

infertile

/ ˌɪnfəˈtɪlɪtɪ; ɪnˈfɜːtaɪl /

adjective

1. not capable of producing offspring; sterile
2. (of land) not productive; barren

infertile

/ ĭn-fûr′tl /

1. Not capable of reproducing.
2. Not capable of developing into a complete organism, as infertile eggs.
3. Relating to soil or land that is not capable of supporting or is unfavorable to the growth of plants.

Derived Forms

• inˈfertilely, adverb
• infertility, noun

Other Words From

• in·fertile·ly adverb
• infer·tili·ty in·fertile·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of infertile¹

From the Latin word infertilis, dating back to 1590–1600. See in- ³, fertile

Example Sentences

The Indian government also opposed the couple’s petition, saying that surrogacy laws in India were meant to assist infertile couples or women, not people who wanted to have a grandchild.

From BBC

“All too often, proposals on this issue go too far by giving blanket immunity to IVF clinics — even for rogue practitioners who switch human embryos, fail to follow basic safety standards, or negligently destroy human embryos desired by infertile couples.”

From Salon

Carrying around little cups of sperm as political protest, to mock infertile people, is most likely a fake scandal, but not being able to have kids easily is rough.

From Slate

But while older women may be infertile, Vance assures us that he doesn't think they need to die quite yet, because they have some value: Raising his kids so that he doesn't have to.

From Salon

“These men are infertile. They look like normal males, but their testes are smaller than average and don’t produce sperm. It’s always devastating when they find out. As they grow older, they stop producing testosterone in the way most men do.”

From BBC

Related Words

• impotent
• sterile