# fertile

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈfɜːtaɪl/ · frequency rank #12,597

## Definitions
1. Of land, etc.: capable of growing abundant crops; productive.
2. Of one's imagination, etc.: active, productive, prolific.
3. Capable of reproducing; fecund, fruitful.
4. Capable of developing past the egg stage.
5. Not itself fissile, but able to be converted into a fissile material by irradiation in a reactor.

## Etymology
From Middle English, from Middle French fertile, from Old French fertile, from Latin fertilis (“fruitful, fertile”), from ferō (“to bear, carry”).

## Easily confused with
- **futile** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fertile-vs-futile)
- **festive** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fertile-vs-festive)
- **fertilize** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fertile-vs-fertilize)
- **Fergie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/fergie-vs-fertile)
- **febrile** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/febrile-vs-fertile)

## Common misspellings (10)
`efrtile`, `feritle`, `ferrtile`, `fertiel`, `fertille`, `fertlie`, `ferttile`, `fetrile`, `ffertile`, `fretile`

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