INFERTILITY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does infertility mean? 

• INFERTILITY (noun)
  The noun INFERTILITY has 1 sense:

1. the state of being unable to produce offspring; in a woman it is an inability to conceive; in a man it is an inability to impregnate

  Familiarity information: INFERTILITY used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• INFERTILITY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The state of being unable to produce offspring; in a woman it is an inability to conceive; in a man it is an inability to impregnate

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

infertility; sterility

Hypernyms ("infertility" is a kind of...):

physical condition; physiological condition; physiological state (the condition or state of the body or bodily functions)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "infertility"):

impotence; impotency (an inability (usually of the male animal) to copulate)

barrenness (the state (usually of a woman) of having no children or being unable to have children)

cacogenesis (inability to produce hybrids that are both viable and fertile)

dysgenesis (infertility between hybrids)

Antonym:

fertility (the state of being fertile; capable of producing offspring)

Derivation:

infertile (incapable of reproducing)

 Context examples 

It may obstruct the lumen of the fallopian tube and result in infertility or tubal pregnancy.

(Fallopian Tube Endometrioid Polyp, NCI Thesaurus)

Infertility is a term doctors use if a woman hasn't been able to get pregnant after at least one year of trying.

(Female Infertility, Dept. of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health)

This "misplaced" tissue can cause pain, infertility, and very heavy periods.

(Endometriosis, NIH)

Some types of infertility have been associated with dysregulated expression of this gene in the endometrium.

(Endometrial Bleeding Associated Factor, NCI Thesaurus)

This process may be involved in infertility.

(Chromosomal Inversion Process, NCI Thesaurus)

This process is is associated with particular types of leukemia, infertility and Down Syndrome.

(Chromosomal Translocation Process, NCI Thesaurus)

It may be useful for women with cancer who want to have children after having radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or certain types of surgery, which can cause infertility.

(Egg cryopreservation, NCI Dictionary)

Such inflammation can lead to functional impairment and infertility.

(Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

PID is the most common preventable cause of infertility in the United States.

(Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, NIH: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

A surgical procedure for infertility related to tubal factors where the ovary is relocated to within the uterine cavity.

(Ovarian Implantation, NCI Thesaurus)