# fertile vs fertilize

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### fertile
*adjective · IPA /ˈfɜːtaɪl/ · frequency rank #12,597*
Of land, etc.: capable of growing abundant crops; productive.

### fertilize
*verb · IPA /ˈfɜː(ɹ)tɪlaɪz/ · frequency rank #46,461*
To make (the soil) more fertile by adding nutrients to it.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fertile-vs-fertilize