ster ‧ ile /ˈsteraɪl $ -rəl/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: sterilis ]
1 . a person or animal that is sterile cannot produce babies SYN infertile OPP fertile
make/render/leave somebody sterile
Radiotherapy has left her permanently sterile.
2 . completely clean and not containing any ↑ bacteria that might cause infection
sterile equipment/water/bandages etc
Rinse the eye with sterile water.
3 . lacking new ideas, interest, or imagination OPP productive
sterile argument/debate etc
the increasingly sterile debate on political reform
4 . a sterile building, room etc is not interesting or attractive and is often very plain:
The classrooms are sterile, with no artwork on the walls.
5 . sterile land cannot be used to grow crops SYN barren
—sterility /stəˈrɪləti, stəˈrɪlɪti/ noun [uncountable]
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THESAURUS
▪ clean without any dirt or marks:
They need clean water to drink.
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I don’t have any clean clothes.
▪ pure water or air that is pure does not contain any dirt, pollution, or bacteria:
I breathed in the pure mountain air.
▪ sterile /ˈsteraɪl $ -rəl/ completely clean, with no bacteria, and therefore safe for medical or scientific use:
Place a sterile bandage on the wound.
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sterile needles
▪ spotless completely clean – used mainly about rooms and clothes:
Her kitchen is always spotless.
▪ pristine /ˈprɪstiːn/ completely clean and new-looking:
He wore a pristine white shirt.
▪ immaculate as clean and tidy as it is possible to be:
The soldiers’ uniforms have to be immaculate.
▪ spick and span [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.