abortive
Americanadjective
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failing to succeed; unsuccessful.
an abortive rebellion; an abortive scheme.
- Synonyms:
- vain, unavailing, bootless, ineffectual, fruitless
- Antonyms:
- successful
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born prematurely.
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imperfectly developed; rudimentary.
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Medicine/Medical.
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producing or intended to produce abortion; abortifacient.
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acting to halt progress of a disease.
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Pathology. (of the course of a disease) short and mild without the usual, pronounced clinical symptoms.
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Botany. (of seeds or pollen grains) imperfect; unable to germinate.
adjective
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failing to achieve a purpose; fruitless
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(of organisms) imperfectly developed; rudimentary
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causing abortion; abortifacient
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of abortive
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English word from Latin word abortīvus. See abort, -ive
Explanation
Did you ever start something and not finish it? If so, that was an abortive project. Abortive things don't get finished. Abortive is a variation of abort, which means to end something, so something abortive never reaches its end point. If you tried like crazy to run a marathon but couldn't finish, your efforts were abortive. If someone tripped you during the marathon, their efforts were abortive too. Abortive things always lead to the words "The end." Abortive can also be a way of avoiding the word unsuccessful.
Vocabulary lists containing abortive
"The Great Gatsby," Chapter 1 Vocabulary
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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., "Beyond Vietnam" (1967)
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And Then There Were None
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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.
Sir Stephens's review of Pip was commissioned by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer following his government's abortive attempt to reform welfare last year.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
A Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2016 for reporting on the abortive Turkish coup, his work has won a string of international awards.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026
Besides, there are other aspects to Murphy’s monstrosity, which he co-created with Jon Robin Baitz and Joe Baken of the narratively abortive “Grotesquerie,” worth pondering.
From Salon ● Nov. 6, 2025
But there was also damning testimony from a detective named Sam Browne, who recalled Darrow’s words to him minutes after the abortive bribe attempt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 26, 2024
He had analyzed the abortive party and found that a misfortune had crept into every crevice, that bad luck had come up like hives on the evening.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
