ABORTIVE

abortive, stillborn, unsuccessful

(adjective) failing to accomplish an intended result; “an abortive revolt”; “a stillborn plot to assassinate the President”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adjective

abortive (comparative more abortive, superlative most abortive)

(obsolete) Produced by abortion; born prematurely and therefore unnatural. [Attested from around (1350 to 1470) until the mid 18th century.]

Coming to nothing; failing in its effect; miscarrying; fruitless; unsuccessful. [First attested in the late 16th century.]

(biology) Imperfectly formed or developed; rudimentary; sterile. [First attested in the mid 18th century.]

(pharmaceutical effect, medicine, rare, attributive) Causing abortion; abortifacient

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

Made from the skin of a still-born animal.

Noun

abortive (plural abortives)

(obsolete) That which is born or brought forth prematurely; an abortion. [Attested from around (1150 to 1350) until the mid 18th century.]

(obsolete) A fruitless effort or issue. [Attested from the early 17th century until the early 18th century.]

(obsolete) A medicine to which is attributed the property of causing abortion, abortifacient.

Verb

abortive (third-person singular simple present abortives, present participle abortiving, simple past and past participle abortived)

(transitive, obsolete) To cause an abortion; to render without fruit. [Attested only in the 17th century.]

Source: Wiktionary


A*bor"tive, a. Etym: [L. abortivus, fr. aboriri. See Abort, v.]

1. Produced by abortion; born prematurely; as, an abortive child. [R.]

2. Made from the skin of a still-born animal; as, abortive vellum. [Obs.]

3. Rendering fruitless or ineffectual. [Obs.] "Plunged in that abortive gulf." Milton.

4. Coming to naught; failing in its effect; miscarrying; fruitless; unsuccessful; as, an abortive attempt. "An abortive enterprise." Prescott.

5. (Biol.)

Definition: Imperfectly formed or developed; rudimentary; sterile; as, an abortive organ, stamen, ovule, etc.

6. (Med.) (a) Causing abortion; as, abortive medicines. Parr. (b) Cutting short; as, abortive treatment of typhoid fever.

A*bor"tive, n.

1. That which is born or brought forth prematurely; an abortion. [Obs.] Shak.

2. A fruitless effort or issue. [Obs.]

3. A medicine to which is attributed the property of causing abortion. Dunglison.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

4 June 2025

LEND

(verb) bestow a quality on; “Her presence lends a certain cachet to the company”; “The music added a lot to the play”; “She brings a special atmosphere to our meetings”; “This adds a light note to the program”


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Coffee Trivia

The earliest credible evidence of coffee-drinking as the modern beverage appeared in modern-day Yemen. In the middle of the 15th century in Sufi shrines where coffee seeds were first roasted and brewed for drinking. The Yemenis procured the coffee beans from the Ethiopian Highlands.

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