fertilize

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From French fertiliser; equivalent to fertile +‎ -ize.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈfɜː(ɹ)tɪlaɪz/
  • Audio (US):(file)

Verb

fertilize (third-person singular simple present fertilizes, present participle fertilizing, simple past and past participle fertilized)

  1. To make (the soil) more fertile by adding nutrients to it.
  2. (figuratively) To make more creative or intellectually productive.
    to fertilize one's imagination
    • 2014 August 8, Rupert Christiansen, “The truth about falsettos [print version: 12 August 2014, p. R8]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Review)‎[1], archived from the original on 7 October 2025:
      He [countertenor Anthony Roth Constanzo] also enjoys being the catalyst whereby opera fertilises other art forms: recently, he's collaborated with Japanese kabuki actors, and a project with dancers from New York City Ballet is in the offing.
  3. To cause to produce offspring through insemination; to inseminate.

Derived terms

Translations

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Translations to be checked

Portuguese

Verb

fertilize

  1. inflection of fertilizar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative
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