abortive

adjective

abor·​tive ə-ˈbȯr-tiv How to pronounce abortive (audio)
1
obsolete : prematurely born
2
3
: imperfectly formed or developed
4
: tending to cut short
abortively adverb
abortiveness noun

Examples of abortive in a Sentence

an abortive attempt to recover the sunken pirate ship
Recent Examples on the Web In what appears to be a dream, a creepy-crawly form is seen moving under the skin of Jakub’s face, its pedipalps first making an abortive attempt to exit via his nostrils before a sizeable spider emerges from his mouth. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Feb. 2024 An abortive one-night stand blossoms into an unlikely best-friendship. TIME, 6 Feb. 2024 Jardin provides a winking tipoff of complications to come later by having Shelby don a wig not unlike Nikki’s long blond tresses for her abortive roleplay attempt to get Cyrus in the mood. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Jan. 2024 Everett Dirksen, a senator from Illinois who served as Senate minority leader at the time, railed against the ruling and led an abortive effort to pass a constitutional amendment that would establish state legislative districts based on land area instead of population. Fox News, 2 Dec. 2022 Unlike the Eastern District’s abortive effort to prosecute Mexico’s former defense minister, Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda, on drug corruption charges in late 2020, the government of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has mostly welcomed the U.S. action against García Luna. Tim Golden, ProPublica, 22 Jan. 2023 Michelle Smith, a top adviser to the attorney general, took to social media on Sunday and attributed Hancock’s votes to resentments dating to Paxton’s abortive 2011 candidacy for House speaker, when both were state representatives. Robert T. Garrett, Dallas News, 19 Sep. 2023 But there is surprise and confusion among Russian analysts over Mr. Prigozhin’s dramatic demise, exactly two months after his abortive uprising. Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, 24 Aug. 2023 In that case, the Niger crisis might bear some passing resemblance to Prigozhin’s own abortive uprising last month. Joel Gehrke, Washington Examiner, 2 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'abortive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English abortyffe, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French abbortif, borrowed from Latin abortīvus, from abortus, past participle of aborīrī "to miscarry, abort entry 1" + -īvus -ive

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of abortive was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near abortive

Cite this Entry

“Abortive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abortive. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

abortive

adjective
abor·​tive ə-ˈbȯrt-iv How to pronounce abortive (audio)
1
: unsuccessful in achieving the desired conclusion or result
an abortive escape attempt
2
: imperfectly formed or developed : rudimentary
abortively adverb
abortiveness noun

Medical Definition

abortive

adjective
abor·​tive ə-ˈbȯrt-iv How to pronounce abortive (audio)
1
: imperfectly formed or developed : rudimentary
2
b
: cutting short
abortive treatment of pneumonia
c
: failing to develop completely or typically
an abortive case of poliomyelitis

More from Merriam-Webster on abortive

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