Abortion Meaning
/əˈbɔɹ.ʃn̩/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe expulsion from the womb of a foetus or embryo before it is fully developed, with loss of the foetus.
nounThe expulsion from the womb of a foetus or embryo before it is fully developed, with loss of the foetus., A spontaneous abortion; a miscarriage.
Sentence Examples
The independent candidate took the abortion issue off his platform.
This is a sociological study on abortion.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The debate over ____ remains one of the most contentious issues in society.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The debate over ____ remains a highly sensitive topic.
Word Origin & History
From Latin abortiōnem (“miscarriage, abortion”), from aborior (“to miscarry”). Equivalent to abort + -ion. Displaced native Old English ǣwyrp (literally “throwing out, rejection”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Swines-bread, so used, doth not onely speed / A tardy labour; but (without great heed) / If over it a Child-great Woman stride, / Instant abortion often doth betide."
— 1605 [1578], Josuah, transl. Sylvester, “The Third Day of the First Week”, in Devine Weekes and Workes, translation of La Premiere Sepmaine by Guillaume de Salluste Du Bartas, lines 693–696:
"At any time after impregnation, abortion may take place: it is one of the most common complaints of pregnancy, whence it is a matter of no small consequence that every practitioner should well understand it."
— 1809, William Nicholson, The British Encyclopaedia, volume IV:
"It is impossible for an abortion clinic to have a waiting list of more than nine months."
— 1997, George Carlin, Brain Droppings, New York: Hyperion Books, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 93:
"The story of Ms. He and her mother began in the early 1960s, shortly before the Cultural Revolution shook China. Her young parents, who worked in a pottery factory in Rongchang in present-day Chongqing municipality, conceived her while unmarried. “They were told by the factory, ‘Have an abortion or be fired’,” she said. They chose to keep her and were fired."
— 2014 January 20, Didi Kirsten Tatlow, “‘She. Herself. Naked.': The Art of He Chengyao”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 16 Aug 2023, Sinosphere:
"Representative Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania will resign from Congress after claims that the anti-abortion Republican had urged a woman he was having an extramarital affair with to have an abortion."
— 2017 October 5, Ben Jacobs, The Guardian:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The debate over ____ remains one of the most contentious issues in society.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The debate over ____ remains a highly sensitive topic.