fertility

/fərˈtɪlɪɾɪ/

/fəˈtɪlɪtɪ/

Other forms: fertilities

Fertility is the ability to have babies or to reproduce. When fertility rates in a community increase, more babies are born.

Fertility is the quality of a human's ability to produce offspring, which is dependent on age, health, and other factors. The noun can also refer to the state of a plant or animal's being capable of reproduction. When you hear about "fertility rates," it means the number of births that happen during a certain time period in a specific location. The Latin root word is fertilis, "bearing in abundance or fruitful," from ferre, "to bear."

Definitions of fertility

1. noun

   the state of being fertile; capable of producing offspring
   synonyms: fecundity

   antonyms:

   infertility

   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

   type of:

   physical condition, physiological condition, physiological state

   the condition or state of the body or bodily functions
2. noun

   the ratio of live births in an area to the population of that area; expressed per 1000 population per year
   synonyms: birth rate, birthrate, fertility rate, natality

   type of:

   rate

   a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit
3. noun

   the property of producing abundantly and sustaining vigorous and luxuriant growth
   synonyms: prolificacy, rankness, richness

   type of:

   fecundity, fruitfulness

   the quality of something that causes or assists healthy growth