Sterile

Definition: Sterile

Sterile

Adjective

1. Not bearing offspring; "a barren woman"; "learned early in his marriage that he was sterile".

2. Free of or using methods to keep free of pathological microorganisms; "a sterile operating area"; "aseptic surgical instruments"; "aseptic surgical techniques".

3. Deficient in originality or creativity; lacking powers of invention:i "a sterile ideology lacking in originality"; "unimaginative development of a musical theme"; "uninspired writing".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "sterile" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1321. (references)

Health

Medicine

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

STERILE

Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

Synonyms: Sterile

Absence

Empty, void; vacant, vacuous; untenanted, unoccupied, uninhabited; tenantless; barren, sterile; desert, deserted; devoid; uninhabitable.

Unproductiveness

Adjective: unproductive, acarpous, inoperative, barren, addled, infertile, unfertile, unprolific, arid, sterile, unfruitful, infecund; sine prole; fallow; teemless, issueless, fruitless; unprofitable; (useless); null and void, of no effect.

Crosswords: Sterile

Italian (arid, barren, fruitless, infertile, sterile, sterilized, unfertile).

You ski the K-12 dude, and girls will go sterile just looking at you! (Better Off Dead...; writing credit: Savage Steve Holland)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

References

• Sterile Recoveries, Inc./Surgical Express, Inc.: International Competitive Benchmarks and Financial Gap Analysis (reference)

  (more reference examples)

Books

• Sterile Filtration: A Practical Approach (reference)

• Sterile Forest: The Case Against Clear Cutting (reference)

• Sterile Pharmaceutical Manufacturing: Applications for the 1990's (reference)

• STERILE RECOVERIES, INC.: International Competitive Benchmarks and Financial Gap Analysis [DOWNLOAD: ADOBE READER] (reference)

• The Sterile Cuckoo (reference)

  (more book examples)

Periodicals

• Central Sterile Supply Quality Assessment (reference)

  (more periodical examples)

Theater & Movies

• The Sterile Cuckoo (reference)

  (more DVD examples; more video examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Shown are laboratory technicians, under sterile conditions processing antibiotics that are active against cancer. They are totally enclosed in protective clothing to keep them from exposure to the possible carcinogenicity of the elements they are handling. Credit: Linda Bartlett (photographer).

Pictured is a lab at the Frederick Cancer Research and Development Facility (FCRDF). A technician is seen in a series of pictures performing cell culture work. Noticeable is the yellow glow of ultraviolet light, which maintains the sterile conditions in the lab. These cell cultures are used for in vitro carcinogenesis assays. Credit: Linda Bartlett (photographer).

A scientist is feeding living cells with media (red liquid) under a laminar flow hood. The old solution of cells and media are centrifuged with the cells remaining on the bottom. The old media is then removed and the new media is added. The laminar flow hood insures a sterile environment to prevent contamination of the cells. Credit: John Crawford (photographer).

Whistler's Anacapa Island engraving from a William B. McMurtrie sketch The seagulls were added to give life to an otherwise sterile landscape. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection.

The production of medflies can be realized in the laboratory by bathing medfly eggs in warm water—a process that kills the female embryos but doesn't harm the male embryos. In the pupal stage, the males canbe irradiated to render them sexually sterile. P. Credit: USDA ARS News; photo by Scott Bauer..

A laminar flow hood ensures sterile conditions as tissue cultures are being prepared ... / WHO p. Credit: National Library of Medicine; photo by J. Mohr..

U. S. Army Base Hospital Number 62, Mars, France. : Operating room showing improvised pitcher tips for sterile water, and also improvised instrument tray and lighting. Credit: National Library of Medicine.

[Demonstrating how to lay a sterile table]. Credit: National Library of Medicine.

This is all you'll ever get from giving blood. : You won't get AIDS- The needles are sterile.* So give blood and save lives. Credit: National Library of Medicine.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Health

Normal urine is sterile. (references)

Sterile ointments are sometimes used at night to help prevent the eye from drying. (references)

Some bacteria may be present on foods when you purchase them. Raw foods are not sterile. (references)

Business

Although mining activities have been reduced in recent years, sterile wastes continue to be the most important category. (references)

Factors such as hygiene, sterilization, and sterile packaging for home healthcare products are in great demand due to an increasing emphasis on safety. (references)

Economic History

Australia

Thus, medical equipment, such as electromedical products, sterile devices, and implantables from all sources are likely to require the most rigorous assessment by the TGA before they can enter the Australian market. (references)

Travel

Cote D'ivoire

It has a 24-hour emergency room, a five-bed intensive care unit, CT scanner, and five sterile operating suites. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Expressions using "sterile": sterile efforts ♦ sterile filtration ♦ sterile land ♦ sterile surgical catgut ♦ theater sterile supplies unit ♦ theatre sterile supply unit. Additional references.

Beginning with "sterile": sterile-naturalistic, sterile-towel-covered.

Ending with "sterile": non-sterile, self-sterile.

Albanian

steril (aseptic), shterp (barren, desert, dry, effete), pa mikrobe (aseptic). (various references)

Arabic 

‏معقم (antiseptic, disinfected, sterilized), ‏مجدب (arid, barren, desert, dry, infertile, sterilized, unfruitful, waste), ‏غير مثمر (barren, fruitless, result badly, unfruitful, unproductive), ‏عقيم (barren, effete, fruitless, futile, ineffectual, unfruitful, unproductiveness, useless, vain, void), ‏عاقر (barren). (various references)

Bulgarian 

стерилен (aseptic, effete), стерилизиран, ялов (infertile), безсъдържателен (empty, idle, inane, insignificant, jejune, meager, meagre, pithless, unmeaning, vacuous, vain, watery), безрезултатен (ineffective, ineffectual, inefficient, unproductive, useless, void). (various references)

Chinese 

不育 (sterility). (various references)

Czech

sterilní (aseptic, barren), planý (airy fairy, barren, empty, false, fruitless, idle, wild), neplodný (barren, fruitless, infertile, unproductive), neúrodný (barren, infertile, poor). (various references)

Danish

steril (barren, germfree, infertile), ufrugtbar (barren, infertile), kimfri, infertil (barren, infertile), gold (arid, barren, infertile), bakteriefri (germfree), aseptisk (aseptic). (various references)

Dutch

steriel (barren, infertile), onvruchtbaar (barren, infertile, unfruitful), kiemvrij (germfree). (various references)

Esperanto

sterila, nefruktodona (barren, infertile, unfruitful). (various references)

Faeroese

lívssørur. (various references)

Farsi 

نازا (Barren), سترون (Barren), عقیم (Abortive, Barren), بی حصل , بی بار (Unfruitful), بایر (Arid). (various references)

Finnish

steriili, karu (arid, bare, barren). (various references)

French

stérile (stone). (various references)

Frisian

steryl. (various references)

German

keimfrei (aseptic, germ-free), steril (aseptic, barren, sterilely). (various references)

Greek 

στείρος (barren, infertile, jejune 2), άγονος (barren, fruitless, jejune 1). (various references)

Hebrew 

מעוקר (castrated, sterilized), מחוטא (disinfected, sterilized), עקר (barren, basis, crux, doctrine, dogma, essence, foundation, futile, gist, impotent, infertile, main, nub, origin, pith, principle, quintessence, root, substance, tenet), �'למו�" (barren, desolate, forlorn, lonely, lonesome, solitary), סטרילי. (various references)

Hungarian

terméketlen (barren, dry, effete, fruitless, hungry, infertile, jejune, lean, non-productive, unfruitful, unproductive), steril (aseptic, germless, sterilized). (various references)

Indonesian

sucihama (aseptic), suci hama (germ free), mandul (infertile), gabuk (childless, empty). (various references)

Italian

sterile (arid, barren, fruitless, infertile, sterilized, unfertile). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

不毛 (barren, sour, unproductive). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

ふもう (barren, sour, unproductive). (various references)

Korean 

�"마른. (various references)

Manx

shiast (barren, barren animal, dry, neuter, sedge), shast (barren, unfruitful, unfruitful as animal), amrid. (various references)

Papiamen

steril. (various references)

Pig Latin

erilestay

Portuguese

estéril (abortive, barren, close-fisted, effete, fruitless, futile, jejune, lean, penurious, poor, ungrateful, unproductive, useless, vain), infecundo (infertile, ungrateful), improdutivo (barren, close-fisted, fruitless, jejune, lean, penurious, poor, unfruitful, ungrateful, unproductive). (various references)

Romanian

sterp (arenaceous, arid, bare, barren, dead, desolate, hungry, infructuous, jejune, lean), steril (addle, arid, barren, fruitless, futile, infructuous, unfruitful, useless, vain), sãrac (barren, beggarly, destitute, empty, hard up, impecunious, in straitened circumstances, lean, low-lived, meager, meagre, mean, needful, needy, pauper, peeled, penniless, penurious, piteous, pitiable, pitiful, poor, poor man, poverty stricken, scanty, small, stingy, void), arid (arid, barren, dead, unproductive). (various references)

Russian 

стерильный (aseptic, barren). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

sterilan (sterilized), očišćen od bakterija, neplodan (barren, infertile, poor, unfruitful), jalov (aborted, barren, fallow, infertile, unfruitful), besplodan (fruitless, futile, unfruitful). (various references)

Spanish

estéril (barren, effete, futile, hungry, infertile, sapless, unfruitful, unproductive, vain). (various references)

Swedish

steril (barren, infertile). (various references)

Turkish

steril (aseptic, sterilized), sonuçsuz (barren, fruitless, inconclusive, ineffective, to no avail), verimsiz (abortive, barren, emaciated, fruitless, idle, ineffectual, inefficacious, inefficient, infertile, jejune, lean, poor, thin, unfruitful, unproductive, unprofitable, unthrifty), mikropsuz (aseptic, germproof, sterilized), kısır (abortive, barren, effete, fruitless, infertile, unfruitful). (various references)

Ukrainian

стерилізований (sterilized), безрезультатний (ineffective, ineffectual, issueless, negative, non-effective, null, without effect), безплідний (abortive, arid, barren, effete, heartless, hungry, nonbearing, otiose). (various references)

Vietnamese 

không sinh đẻ, không kết quả vô trùng nghèo n� n, khô cằn không sinh sản, hiếm hoi vô ích, cằn cỗi (constricted, infecund, infertile). (various references)

infecundus, sterilem, steriles, sterili, sterilis. (various references)

Derivations

Words beginning with "sterile": sterilely. (additional references)

Words ending with "sterile": intersterile, unsterile. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Sterile" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Asterope, Esterel, Esteril, Searelle, serele, seriel, seril, stamile, starkle, steerables, steral, steri, steril, steriles, sterl, sterle, Streetley, strile, Sturiale, Sverige, Tsherlik. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Direct Anagrams: leister, retiles.

-1 letter: elites, listee, lister, liters, litres, relets, relies, relist, resile, resite, reties, retile, streel, tilers.

-2 letters: elite, ester, islet, istle, leers, leets, liers, liter, litre, reels, reest, relet, relit, reset, retie, riels, riles, rites, siree, sleet, slier, steel, steer, stele, stere, stile, teels, teles, terse, tiers, tiler, tiles, tires, tirls, trees, tries.

-3 letters: eels.

+1 letter: ateliers, earliest, enlister, epistler, leariest, leeriest, leisters, listener, peltries, perlites, realties, reenlist, relisted, reptiles, reticles, retitles, sclerite, silenter, sleetier, steelier, tiercels, tireless, triscele, triskele.

+2 letters: aerolites, beastlier, billeters, bleariest, blistered, butleries, cartelise, cruelties, cutleries, derelicts, detailers, dolerites, elaterids, elaterins, electrics, enlisters, entailers, epistlers, epistoler, erstwhile, exsertile, filterers, glistered, helotries, hoteliers, jetliners, laetriles, laterites, laterizes, leistered, levirates, liberates, liberties, limberest, listeners, literates, litterers, loiterers, lorikeets, lotteries, lysimeter, materiels, misrelate, nearliest, pearliest, pearlites, peristyle, pistoleer, realities, reenlists, refilters, relatives, resilient, restively, retailers, reticules, rillettes, sclerites, seriately, slithered, sortilege, statelier, stenciler, sterilely, sterilize, streeling, sweltrier, treenails, trellised, trellises, triplexes, trisceles, triskeles, unsterile, versatile.