Land or soil that is fertile is able to support the growth of a large number of strong healthy plants.
...fertile soil.
...the rolling fertile countryside of East Cork.
Synonyms: productive, rich, flowering, lush More Synonyms of fertile
fertility (fɜːʳtɪlɪti)uncountable noun
He was able to bring large sterile acreages back to fertility.
Synonyms: fruitfulness, abundance, richness, fecundity More Synonyms of fertile
2. adjective [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
A fertile mind or imagination is able to produce a lot of good, original ideas.
...a product of Flynn's fertile imagination.
A chess player must have a fertile imagination and rich sense of fantasy.
Synonyms: creative, productive, prolific, inventive More Synonyms of fertile
3. adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
A situation or environment that is fertile in relation to a particular activity or feeling encourages the activity or feeling.
...a fertile breeding ground for this kind of violent racism.
4. adjective
A person or animal that is fertile is able to reproduce and have babies or young.
The operation cannot be reversed to make her fertile again.
Synonyms: able to conceive, able to reproduce, able to have children, able to have babies More Synonyms of fertile
fertilityuncountable noun
Doctors will tell you that pregnancy is the only sure test for fertility.
Synonyms: ability to conceive, potency, ability to have children, ability to have babies More Synonyms of fertile
fertile in British English
(ˈfɜːtaɪl)
adjective
1.
capable of producing offspring
2.
a.
(of land) having nutrients capable of sustaining an abundant growth of plants
b.
(of farm animals) capable of breeding stock
3. biology
a.
capable of undergoing growth and development
fertile seeds
fertile eggs
b.
(of plants) capable of producing gametes, spores, seeds, or fruits
4.
producing many offspring; prolific
5.
highly productive; rich; abundant
a fertile brain
6. physics
(of a substance) able to be transformed into fissile or fissionable material, esp in a nuclear reactor
7.
conducive to productiveness
fertile rain
Derived forms
fertilely (ˈfertilely)
adverb
fertileness (ˈfertileness)
noun
Word origin
C15: from Latin fertilis, from ferre to bear
fertile in American English
(ˈfɜrtəl; Chiefly British and Canadian ˈfɜrˌtaɪl)
adjective
1.
producing abundantly; rich in resources or invention; fruitful; prolific
2.
causing or helping fertility
the sun's fertile warmth
3.
able to produce young, seeds, fruit, pollen, spores, etc.
4.
capable of development into a new individual; fertilized
fertile eggs
SYNONYMY NOTE: fertile implies a producing, or power of producing, fruit or offspring, and may be used figurativelyof the mind; , fecund implies the abundant production of offspring or fruit, or, figuratively, of creationsof the mind; , fruitful specifically suggests the bearing of much fruit, but it is also used to imply fertility(of soil), favorable or profitable results, etc.; , prolific, a close synonym for , fecund, more often carries derogatory connotations of overly rapid production or reproduction
OPPOSITES: sterile, barren
Derived forms
fertilely (ˈfertilely)
adverb
fertileness (ˈfertileness)
noun
Word origin
ME < OFr < L fertilis < stem of ferre, bear1
Examples of 'fertile' in a sentence
fertile
It grows well in most soils but thrives in a fertile, well-drained soil in full sun.
The Sun (2016)
Ground was not fertile.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Their predecessors had toiled for centuries to turn remote and unpromising lands into fertile fields and vineyards.
Michael Burleigh Earthly Powers: Religion and Politics in Europe from the Enlightenment to the GreatWar (2005)
What is it about ministry that can be fertile soil for this kind of sin?
Christianity Today (2000)
His fertile mind could not help bubbling over into other subjects.
The Times Literary Supplement (2013)
Your fertile imagination gives you the stimulation you need.
The Sun (2015)
This provides fertile grounds for further works.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The country is blessed with huge amounts of fertile land and rich mineral deposits.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Just make sure you have a sunny spot with fertile soil.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
He had a fertile mind and was so creative.
The Sun (2016)
They look at it as a fertile ground for imagination and storytelling.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
This has long been fertile footballing ground.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
American immigrants were drawn by the offer of fertile and inexpensive land.
Divine, Robert A. (editor) & Breen, T. H & Frederickson, George M & Williams, R. Hal America Past and Present (1995)
Find out whether the soil is fertile and whether the land is wooded.
Croft, James Corporate Cloak and Dagger (1994)
But fertile minds in government must surely be trying to find the right job for him.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Perhaps this was a vital ingredient in the chemistry that produced such a fertile imagination.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
All of what we are began in that fertile land between the two great rivers.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Owners will be offered incentives to convert their space into a fertile environment and be provided with necessities such as tools and compost.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The Conservatives had fertile ground in which to recover.
Simon Ball THE GUARDSMEN (2004)
Where is the fertile soil from yesterday to plant tomorrow's ideas?
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
As we saw in the last chapter, this is fertile ground for a modelling project.
O'Connor, Joseph & Seymour, John Training with N.L.P. (1994)
The rich and well-drained soil there provides particularly fertile land.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
They prefer full sun and moist, fertile soil.
The Sun (2009)
He had taken the well-intentioned sop of a management role with the sheikh but his fertile brain was rebelling.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
In other languages
fertile
British English: fertile /ˈfɜːtaɪl/ ADJECTIVE
Land or soil that is fertile is able to support a large number of strong healthy plants.
American English: fertile
Arabic: خَصِب
Brazilian Portuguese: fértil
Chinese: 肥沃的
Croatian: plodan
Czech: úrodný
Danish: frugtbar
Dutch: vruchtbaar
European Spanish: fértil
Finnish: hedelmällinen
French: fertile
German: fruchtbar
Greek: γόνιμος
Italian: fertile
Japanese: 繁殖力のある
Korean: 비옥한
Norwegian: fruktbar
Polish: urodzajny
European Portuguese: fértil
Romanian: fertil
Russian: плодородный
Latin American Spanish: fértil
Swedish: fertil
Thai: ซึ่งมีดินอุดมสมบูรณ์
Turkish: verimli
Ukrainian: родючий
Vietnamese: màu mỡ
All related terms of 'fertile'
cross-fertile
capable of cross-fertilization or of being cross-fertilized
fertile period
the time during a woman's menstrual cycle at which she is most likely to become pregnant , or the equivalent time for an animal
Fertile Crescent
an area of fertile land in the Middle East, extending around the Rivers Tigris and Euphrates in a semicircle from Israel to the Persian Gulf , where the Sumerian , Babylonian , Assyrian , Phoenician , and Hebrew civilizations flourished
fertile material
material which can be converted into a fissile material by a neutron-induced nuclear reaction , as uranium-238 or thorium-232
fertile imagination
Your imagination is the ability that you have to form pictures or ideas in your mind of things that are new and exciting , or things that you have not experienced .
self-fertilisation
fertilization in a plant or animal by the fusion of male and female gametes produced by the same individual
Chinese translation of 'fertile'
fertile
(ˈfəːtaɪl)
adj
[land, soil]肥沃的 (féiwò de)
[woman]能生育的 (néng shēngyù de)
[imagination, mind]丰(豐)富的 (fēngfù de)
fertile ground (fig) 沃土 (wòtǔ)
1 (adjective)
Definition
highly productive
the rolling fertile countryside of Ireland
Synonyms
productive
fertile and productive soil
rich
Farmers grow rice in the rich soil.
flowering
lush
the lush green meadows
fat
They are set to make a fat profit.
yielding
prolific
Closer planting will give you a more prolific crop.
abundant
There is an abundant supply of labour.
plentiful
a celebration that gives thanks for a plentiful harvest
fruitful
a landscape that was fruitful and lush
teeming
luxuriant
wide spreading branches and luxuriant foliage
generative
fecund
a symbol of fecund nature
fruit-bearing
flowing with milk and honey
plenteous
The harvest is truly plenteous.
Opposites
poor
,
dry
,
barren
,
sterile
,
impotent
,
unproductive
,
infertile
,
unfruitful
,
infecund
2 (adjective)
Definition
highly productive
a product of his fertile imagination
Synonyms
creative
Like many creative people, he was never satisfied.
productive
a highly productive writer of fiction
prolific
a prolific writer of novels and short stories
inventive
It inspired me to be more inventive with my cooking.
resourceful
Her mother was a resourceful woman.
3 (adjective)
Definition
capable of producing offspring, crops, or vegetation