infecundity
Definition
- Noun:
- Lack of fertility: "infecundity" refers to the quality or state of being unable to produce offspring, crops, or abundant growth; barrenness.
- Unproductiveness: It can also denote a general lack of creative or productive output.
Usage Examples
- (The soil was barren and could not support crops.)
- (Their inability to conceive children prompted them to explore adoption.)
- (A lack of new ideas or productive inspiration.)
Advanced Usage
- "to suffer from infecundity": to experience a prolonged inability to produce or generate.
- The nation's economy suffered from infecundity, with no new industries emerging. (The economy was unproductive and stagnant.)
Variants and Related Words
Infecund (adj): barren; not fertile or productive.
- The infecund land could not support any vegetation. (The land was completely barren.)
Fecundity (n): the quality of being fertile or productive (opposite of infecundity).
- The fecundity of the soil ensured a bountiful harvest. (The soil's fertility led to a large crop.)
Synonyms
- Barrenness: the state of being unable to produce offspring or crops.
- Sterility: the condition of being free from living germs or unable to reproduce.
- Unproductiveness: the quality of yielding little or no result.
Related Idioms
- Fallow ground: land left unplanted; metaphorically, a period of inactivity or lack of production.
- After years of creative infecundity, the writer's mind was like fallow ground, needing rest. (A period of barrenness requiring rejuvenation.)
Phrasal Verbs
- Dry up: to cease to produce or become unproductive.
- The artist's inspiration dried up, leading to a long phase of infecundity. (His creative output stopped entirely.)