🧼 Can be disinfected 🐶 Can be made infertile

sterilizable

6.3

Can be made unable to have babies by a medical operation

adjective
/ˈstɛrɪlaɪzəbl/

Specialized

: esterilizable

The veterinarian confirmed that the stray dog was sterilizable before scheduling the procedure.

Examples

Many animal shelters focus on finding homes for sterilizable pets to help control the population.
Before adoption, all sterilizable animals at the clinic undergo a routine surgery.
The equipment is sterilizable for safe use.
Many surgical tools are sterilizable to prevent infections.
The veterinarian confirmed that the stray dog was sterilizable before scheduling the procedure.
Many animal shelters focus on finding homes for sterilizable pets to help control the population.
Before adoption, all sterilizable animals at the clinic undergo a routine surgery.

Antonyms

fertilizable

Specialized

1 7.0

Can join with sperm or pollen to start new life

Surface Forms

sterilizable positive

steriliserable positive

Morphology

sterilizable = sterilize (transparent) = sterilize + able

Derived by adding '-able' to 'sterilize'; the sense 'able to be made incapable of reproduction' is directly connected to the verb's medical sense.

Etymology

Sterilizable comes from Latin sterilis meaning 'unable to have young' or 'barren', and this is the root of the common word sterile. That's why to sterilize an animal is to make it unable to have babies, so sterilizable means it can be made unable to reproduce.