noun
sterility
The inability to reproduce.
Some cancer treatments cause sterility by damaging the reproductive organs.
Etymology
The Latin noun means barrenness. This reproductive sense retains the absence of the capacity to produce offspring.
More examples
- The plant's sterility prevents it from producing seeds.
- Critics complain about the sterility of the committee's ideas.
- She finds the emotional sterility of their marriage painful.
Forms
sterile adjective — Unable to produce offspring or seeds.
Similar words
- infertility
- Often describes difficulty conceiving rather than a complete inability.
- barrenness
- Also describes land that cannot support crops or vegetation.