abortive
Americanadjective
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failing to succeed; unsuccessful.
an abortive rebellion; an abortive scheme.
- Synonyms:
- vain, unavailing, bootless, ineffectual, fruitless
- Antonyms:
- successful
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born prematurely.
-
imperfectly developed; rudimentary.
-
Medicine/Medical.
-
producing or intended to produce abortion; abortifacient.
-
acting to halt progress of a disease.
-
-
Pathology. (of the course of a disease) short and mild without the usual, pronounced clinical symptoms.
-
Botany. (of seeds or pollen grains) imperfect; unable to germinate.
adjective
-
failing to achieve a purpose; fruitless
-
(of organisms) imperfectly developed; rudimentary
-
causing abortion; abortifacient
Other Word Forms
- abortively adverb
- abortiveness noun
- nonabortive adjective
- nonabortively adverb
- nonabortiveness noun
- unabortive adjective
- unabortively adverb
- unabortiveness noun
Etymology
Origin of abortive
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English word from Latin word abortīvus. See abort, -ive
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2016 for reporting on the abortive Turkish coup, his work has won a string of international awards.
On Saturday morning, four days after Yoon's abortive attempt to declare martial law, the president once again appeared on television.
From BBC
So it is possible the abortive flight over Kostyantynivka was one of Moscow’s first attempts to test its new weapon in combat conditions.
From BBC
It led him to launch his short, abortive presidential bid.
From Seattle Times
Later came boarding school and an abortive spell at Oxford University.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
