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Showing results for abortifacient. Search instead for motofacient.

abortifacient

American  
[uh-bawr-tuh-fey-shuhnt] / əˌbɔr təˈfeɪ ʃənt /

adjective

  1. causing abortion.


noun

  1. a drug or device used to cause abortion.

    a biochemical abortifacient in pill form.

abortifacient British  
/ əˌbɔːtɪˈfeɪʃənt /

adjective

  1. causing abortion

"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

noun

  1. a drug or agent that causes abortion

"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

Etymology

Origin of abortifacient

First recorded in 1870–75; abort + -i- + -facient ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Benjamin Franklin even included a recipe for an abortifacient in a math textbook, of all places.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 18, 2024

Another compound, ulipristal acetate, held similar promise as an emergency contraceptive and fibroid treatment without the baggage of abortifacient branding.

From The Verge • Jul. 23, 2022

Most surprisingly, however, these medical practices were not only relegated to herbal, pharmaceutical contraceptives and abortifacient drugs, but also the various surgical interventions, what today we would refer to as a late-term abortion.

From Scientific American • Dec. 11, 2020

While mifepristone potentiates misoprostol, the latter is a highly effective abortifacient by itself.

From Slate • Jul. 31, 2018

It is also used as an abortifacient, but is too mild a uterine stimulant to be reliable for that purpose.

From The Medicinal Plants of the Philippines by Thomas, Jerome Beers