self-sterile

adjective

Incapable of self-fertilization.

Opposite
self-fertile
OriginEnglish sterile ← Middle English self- ← Old English self- →
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Meanings

adjectiveself-sterile (comparative more self-sterile, superlative most self-sterile)

comparative more self-sterile · superlative most self-sterile

  1. Incapable of self-fertilization.

Synonyms & antonyms

antonym(s) of “incapable of self-fertilization”

Opposite
self-fertile

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*swé?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*selbʰ-
  3. Proto-Germanic*selbaz
  4. Old Englishself
  5. Old Englishself-
  6. Middle Englishself-
  7. Englishself-
  8. Englishsterile
  9. Englishself-sterile

From self- + sterile.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Irish féinaimrid
  • féinaimridincapable of self-fertilization
Romanian autosteril
  • autosterilincapable of self-fertilization
Cite this entry
APA

self-sterile. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-sterile

MLA

“self-sterile.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-sterile. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “self-sterile,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/self-sterile.

Source: self-sterile on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.