abortive

CEFRC2

/əˈbɔɹ.tɪv/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Unsuccessful because it ends before achieving its purpose.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Coming to nothing; failing in its effect. .

Examples

  • Their abortive attempt to climb the mountain ended due to bad weather.

  • Their effort proved abortive.

At a glance

Sits at C2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
4

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Imperfectly formed or developed; rudimentary; sterile.

  2. Produced by abortion; born prematurely and therefore unnatural.

  3. Cutting short; acting to halt or slow the progress (of a disease).

More examples

In context

  • an abortive child

  • an abortive attempt

  • an abortive organ

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

Their blank attempt to climb the mountain ended in failure due to bad weather.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

First attested in 1382, with the meaning "causing stillbirth or miscarriage". From Middle English abortif, from Old French abortif, from Latin abortīvus (“causing abortion”), from aborior (“miscarry, disappear”), from ab (“amiss”) + orior (“appear, be born, arise”).