adjective
sterile
Free from living microorganisms.
The sealed pack keeps the surgical instruments sterile.
Etymology
The older word means barren or unable to produce growth. Medicine and microbiology specialized it to an absence of living microorganisms.
In context
And therefore, a mule is sterile. But not all hybrids are sterile. Some, like the pizzly bear, are fertile and they can reproduce.
More examples
- The laboratory required sterile equipment.
- They opened a sterile container.
- The sample remained sterile.
Forms
sterile
sterility noun — absence of microorganisms, fertility, or productive life
Similar words
- clean
- Free of dirt but not necessarily microorganisms.
- disinfected
- Treated to reduce harmful germs, not necessarily completely sterile.