From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsterilester‧ile /ˈsteraɪl $ -rəl/ adjective 1 MBBABY/HAVE A BABYa person or animal that is sterile cannot produce babies SYN infertile OPP fertilemake/render/leave somebody sterile Radiotherapy has left her permanently sterile.2 CLEANcompletely clean and not containing any bacteria that might cause infectionsterile equipment/water/bandages etc Rinse the eye with sterile water.► see thesaurus at clean3 BORINGlacking new ideas, interest, or imagination OPP productivesterile argument/debate etc the increasingly sterile debate on political reform4 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 TAsterile land cannot be used to grow crops SYN barren —sterility /stəˈrɪləti/ noun [uncountable]
Examples from the Corpus
sterile• This does not, however, render the question of social origins of state personnel, such as bureaucrats, sterile.• Some women who used the birth control device became sterile.• Susan thought that her illness had made her sterile.• Red Cross officials say they are running short of disinfectant and sterile bandages.• The floors of old-growth forests tend to be fairly sterile because overhead canopies of leaves prevent light from reaching the ground.• There are even sterile controls for the piped music.• During the sterile Eighties, we overdosed on design and killed freedom of expression.• a sterile laboratory• a sterile, meaningless relationship• They are native to dry and sterile regions.• a group of sterile skyscrapers• It lost to a politicized plan, which resulted in the sterile towers and hidden plazas that now mark Bunker Hill.• Giving blood is perfectly safe. All equipment is sterile, used once and thrown away.• In a sterile world casein would be nearly an ideal glue.sterile equipment/water/bandages etc• Aseptic techniques require sterile equipment. 8.sterile argument/debate etc• One can debate whether gatherings after Constantinople or after Trent have been ecumenical, but it is a sterile argument.• Legal theory has long been bedevilled by a sterile debate between positivists and natural lawyers.• This threatens to become a sterile debate, but there are ways to make progress.• Roy Hattersley's simultaneous resignation as deputy leader also opens up the increasingly sterile debate on constitutional reform.Origin sterile (1400-1500) Latin sterilis 