abortifacient
[uh-bawr-tuh-fey-shuh nt]
- causing abortion.
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- a drug or device used to cause abortion: a biochemical abortifacient in pill form.
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Origin of abortifacient
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for abortifacient
Contemporary Examples
But medical science is clear: emergency contraception is not an abortifacient.
Historical Examples
Amongst them must theoretically be included all abortifacient drugs.
Parenthood and Race CultureCaleb Williams Saleeby
Diachylon, or lead-plaster, is largely used as an abortifacient.
Aids to Forensic Medicine and ToxicologyW. G. Aitchison Robertson
It is sometimes taken as an abortifacient or given as an aphrodisiac, but whether it has any such action is open to question.
Aids to Forensic Medicine and ToxicologyW. G. Aitchison Robertson
The oil of savin is now occasionally used criminally as an abortifacient.
Unfavorable publicity, the abortifacient of new enterprises, would mean you could hardly give the stuff away.
Greener Than You ThinkWard Moore
abortifacient
- causing abortion
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- a drug or agent that causes abortion
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for abortifacient
n.
1875, noun and adjective, from Latin abortus (see abortive) + facientem "making," related to facere "do" (see factitious). An earlier word for this in the noun sense was abortive (1640s).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
abortifacient
(ə-bôr′tə-fā′shənt)- Causing or inducing abortion.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.