abortive

American  

[uh-bawr-tiv] / əˈbɔr tɪv /

adjective

1. failing to succeed; unsuccessful.

   an abortive rebellion; an abortive scheme.

   Synonyms:

   vain, unavailing, bootless, ineffectual, fruitless

   Antonyms:

   successful

2. born prematurely.

3. imperfectly developed; rudimentary.

4. Medicine/Medical.

   1. producing or intended to produce abortion; abortifacient.

   2. acting to halt progress of a disease.

5. Pathology. (of the course of a disease) short and mild without the usual, pronounced clinical symptoms.

6. Botany. (of seeds or pollen grains) imperfect; unable to germinate.

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abortive British  

/ əˈbɔːtɪv /

adjective

1. failing to achieve a purpose; fruitless

2. (of organisms) imperfectly developed; rudimentary

3. causing abortion; abortifacient

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonabortiveness
  noun
• abortively
  adverb
• nonabortive
  adjective
• unabortiveness
  noun
• unabortive
  adjective
• unabortively
  adverb
• nonabortively
  adverb
• abortiveness
  noun

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.

Related Words

• failed
• fruitless
• futile
• unsuccessful