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Synonyms

contraceptive

American  
[kon-truh-sep-tiv] / ˌkɒn trəˈsɛp tɪv /

adjective

  1. tending or serving to prevent conception or impregnation.

  2. pertaining to contraception.

noun

  1. a contraceptive device, drug, foam, etc.

contraceptive British  
/ ˌkɒntrəˈsɛptɪv /

adjective

  1. relating to or used for contraception; able or tending to prevent impregnation

"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. any device that prevents or tends to prevent conception

"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
contraceptive Scientific  
/ kŏn′trə-sĕp′tĭv /

  1. A substance or device capable of preventing pregnancy.

Etymology

Origin of contraceptive

First recorded in 1890–95; contra- 1 ( def. ) + (con)ceptive ( 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.

"You know your health is disintegrating in front of you and there's absolutely nothing you can do to stop it, apart from being told to just take the contraceptive pill so you don't have periods."

From BBC • Mar. 2, 2026

"One option is to explore if one of our 'traffic-control' enzymes could be safely targeted as a nonhormonal male or female contraceptive," she added.

From Science Daily • Feb. 14, 2026

Guttmacher Institute estimates that 50 million women and girls have already been denied contraceptive care in low and middle-income countries globally.

From Salon • Jan. 24, 2026

The justices have already dealt with the contraceptive mandate and the Little Sisters twice, and this latest challenge seems designed to irritate them.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 22, 2025

Ritual and ethical absention and the use of contraceptive drugs seem to have played the major part in maintaining this stability.

From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin

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.