Definition of: sterile

(ster′əl) adjective
1. Having no reproductive power; barren.
2. Bot. Producing no pistil or no spores; incapable of germinating, as certain plants.
3. Lacking productiveness or fertility; hence, useless; being without result: sterile soil.
4. Containing no pathogenic bacteria or other micro–organisms; aseptic: a sterile fluid.
5. Destitute of attractiveness or suggestiveness: said especially of literary work: sterile verse. [<L sterilis barren]
—ster′ile·ly adverb
—ste·ril·i·ty (stə·ril′ə·tē), ster′ile·ness noun