sterile
/ˈstɛɹaɪl/
"sterile" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“sterile” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #16,591 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #16,591
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 15
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Unable to reproduce (or procreate).
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | sterile |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈstɛɹaɪl/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #16,591 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 15 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “sterile” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for sterile is 7 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈstɛɹaɪl/. Corpus data places it at rank #16,591 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for sterile, with forms such as "setrile", "ssterile", and "steirle". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 15 confusable-pair relationships, "strike", "strive", "Stevie", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French stérile, from Latin sterilis (“barren, futile”). See also Ancient Greek στεῖρα (steîra). The correct English form is sterile, spelled S-T-E-R-I-L-E.
Definition
- 1Unable to reproduce (or procreate).
- 2Terse; lacking sentiment or emotional stimulation, as in a manner of speaking.
- 3Fruitless, uninspiring, or unproductive.
- 4Germless; free from all living or viable microorganisms.
- 5Permanently uninhabitable (as in a planet like Earth) to all life, including even microbes.
- 6Free from dangerous objects, as a zone in an airport that can be only be entered via a security checkpoint.
- 7Of weapons: foreign-made and untraceable to the United States.
Etymology
From Middle French stérile, from Latin sterilis (“barren, futile”). See also Ancient Greek στεῖρα (steîra).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: setrile,ssterile,steirle,steriel,sterille,sterlie,sterrile,streile,stterile,tserile
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sterile - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “sterile”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-T-E-R-I-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈstɛɹaɪl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “strike” - see the side-by-side comparison. sterile vs strike
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.