Definitions

fertile

[fur-tl, -tahyl] / ˈfɜr tl, -taɪl /

ADJECTIVE

ready to bear, produce

Synonyms

STRONGEST

abundant arable fruitful lush productive rich

WEAK

bearing black bountiful breeding breedy bringing forth childbearing childing fecund feracious flowering flowing with milk and honey generative gravid hebetic loamy luxuriant plenteous plentiful pregnant procreant producing proliferant prolific puberal pubescent rank spawning teeming uberous vegetative virile with child yielding

Antonyms

STRONGEST

barren impotent sparse unfruitful unproductive

WEAK

fruitless infertile sterile useless

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

This practice of ritual burial is believed to have originated among early Neolithic groups in the "Fertile Crescent" - a region encompassing parts of modern-day Turkey, Israel, Syria and Lebanon - before gradually spreading westward.

From BBC • Dec. 29, 2024

Van Buren, the incumbent, was a gourmand and “loved all things French food,” said Bruce Kraig, author of “A Rich and Fertile Land: A History of Food in America.”

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 13, 2024

Two-thousand years ago, forts were constructed by the Roman Empire across the northern Fertile Crescent, spanning from what is now western Syria to northwestern Iraq.

From Science Daily • Oct. 27, 2023

Civilization began in the Fertile Crescent about 10,000 years ago, when people first settled into villages and started growing food.

From Salon • Aug. 11, 2023

Some of those related beans and barleys were indeed domesticated independently in the Americas or China, far from the early site of domestication in the Fertile Crescent.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Vocabulary lists containing fertile

Down on the Farm

Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!

Word Generation Social Studies - Ancient Civilizations of Egypt, Greece, Rome

Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!

Mesopotamia - Introductory

Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!