Word · Frequency #20963
infertile
贫瘠的；不肥沃的
Not fertile; barren, especially of land or soil.
- 1.
Not fertile.
不肥沃的；不育的。
- 2.
incapable of reproducing
不能生育的
不育的；无法生育的；不肥沃的；不育的。；不能生育的；不肥沃的；不毛的
In use
The soil in this region is too infertile to support any crops.
The farmer discovered that most of the seeds were infertile and would not germinate.
The hen's eggs turned out to be infertile, so no chicks hatched.
an infertile couple
[noun] + be + infertile
The soil in this region is infertile.
这个地区的土壤不肥沃。
infertile + [noun]
Infertile couples often seek medical help.
不育夫妇常常寻求医疗帮助。
become + infertile
The farmland became infertile after overuse.
过度使用后，农田变得贫瘠。
Common mistakes
Many infertile are seeking treatment.Many infertile people are seeking treatment.
infertile 是形容词，不能直接作名词。应加上 person/people 等名词。
He is infertile to father a child.He is infertile and cannot father a child.
infertile 后不接不定式表示能力，应使用 be infertile + and 从句或分句。
Connections
Collocations
- infertile soil
- 贫瘠的土壤
- Nothing would grow in the infertile soil.贫瘠的土壤里什么都长不出来。
- infertile woman
- 不孕的妇女
- Many infertile women choose in vitro fertilization.许多不孕的妇女选择体外受精。
- infertile couple
- 不育夫妇
- The clinic provides counseling for infertile couples.该诊所为不育夫妇提供咨询服务。
- render somebody infertile
- 使某人丧失生育能力
- The illness rendered her infertile.这种疾病使她丧失了生育能力。
- become infertile
- 变得不育；失去生育能力
- The land became infertile after years of overuse.这片土地经过多年的过度使用后变得贫瘠。
Pop culture & quotes
Learner notes
Memory Tip
记忆：in（不）+ fertile（肥沃），想象不肥沃的土地种不出庄稼，也指不能生育。
Context & Register
语域：neutral 常见场景：土壤与农业、医学与生育 infertile 作形容词时有两个常用义：指土壤/土地贫瘠，或指人/动物不育。整体属于中性偏正式用词，多用于医学、农业或科学说明等书面语境；日常口语中谈及“不能生育”时，更常说 unable to have children 或 sterile，需注意语气。
Grammar Note
形容词，可用于名词前做定语或系动词后做表语
Pronunciation & Spelling
这些词与美国读音 /ɪnˈfɝtəl/ 押韵：fertile /ˈfɝtəl/、hurtle /ˈhɝtəl/、turtle /ˈtɝtəl/、myrtle /ˈmɝtəl/。注意 fertile 在英式英语中常读作 /ˈfɜːtaɪl/，此时不押韵；hostile /ˈhɑːstəl/ 或 /ˈhɑːstaɪl/ 虽也以 -tile 结尾，但发音不同，不要按拼写类推。
Usage priority
Collins 词频等级为 1，建议结合例句记忆，而不是只背中文释义。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.