sterile

Adjective

sterile (comparative more sterile, superlative most sterile)

1. (not comparable) Unable to reproduce (or procreate).
   • According to that Cabaliſticall Dogma: If Abram had not had this Letter [i.e., ה (he)] added unto his Name he had remained fruitleſſe, and without the power of generation: […] So that being ſterill before, he received the power of generation from that meaſure and manſion in the Archetype; and was...1658, Thomas Browne, “The Garden of Cyrus. […]. Chapter V.”, in Hydriotaphia, Urne-buriall, […] Together with The Garden of Cyrus, […], London: […] Hen[ry] Brome […], →OCLC, page 192

   Synonyms:

   barren, infertile

2. (figuratively) Terse; lacking sentiment or emotional stimulation, as in a manner of speaking.
3. (figuratively) Fruitless, uninspiring, or unproductive.
4. Germless; free from all living or viable microorganisms.
   • a sterile kitchen table
5. Permanently uninhabitable (as in a planet like Earth) to all life, including even microbes.
6. Free from dangerous objects, as a zone in an airport that can be only be entered via a security checkpoint.
7. (US) Of weapons: foreign-made and untraceable to the United States.
   • An early CIA decision was to bring war surplus in Europe to the United States, rather than let it fall into the hands of left-wing movements. Some of the guns would also, it was reasoned, be useful as "sterile" weapons (foreign-made and untraceable to the United States) to be provided secretly to...1980, Russell Warren Howe, Weapons: The International Game of Arms, Money and Diplomacy
   • In addition to this rapid supply system, the US Army Counterinsurgency Support Office on Okinawa helped procure special equipment including rucksacks, special rations for irregular troops, 'sterile' weapons which could not be traced to the USA and other items not procurable through foreign channels.1990, Leroy Thompson, The US Army in Vietnam, page 111