List of 426 Sets of Synonyms - How they Differ - Total of 2307 Words - 377

SYNONYMS: sterile, infertile, barren, unfruitful, impotent.
These adjectives in literal usage mean not producing or unable to produce offspring; figuratively they suggest a lack of productiveness.

To be sterile is to be incapable of reproducing; by extension the term implies a lack of vitality, creativity, or effectiveness: a sterile conclusion; sterile pleasures.
Infertile is synonymous with sterile: an infertile imagination.
Barren especially describes one who has tried and failed to have children; it can also apply to what is devoid of profit, interest, or enjoyment: barren efforts; barren praise.
Unfruitful literally means not bearing fruit or offspring and figuratively means not having a useful result: an unfruitful discussion.
Impotent specifies the inability of a male to engage in sexual intercourse; in a general sense it implies powerlessness: impotent rage.