What does abortive mean?

Definitions for abortive
əˈbɔr tɪvabortive

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word abortive.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. abortive, stillborn, unsuccessfuladjective

    failing to accomplish an intended result

    "an abortive revolt"; "a stillborn plot to assassinate the President"

GCIDE

  1. Abortivenoun

    (Med.) A medicine to which is attributed the property of causing abortion; -- also called an abortifacient. Dunglison.

Wiktionary

  1. abortivenoun

    That which is born or brought forth prematurely; an abortion.

  2. abortivenoun

    A fruitless effort or issue.

  3. abortivenoun

    A medicine to which is attributed the property of causing abortion, abortifacient.

  4. abortiveadjective

    Produced by abortion; born prematurely; as an abortive child.

  5. abortiveadjective

    Coming to naught; failing in its effect; miscarrying; fruitless; unsuccessful; as, an abortive attempt.

  6. abortiveadjective

    Imperfectly formed or developed; rudimentary; sterile; as, an abortive organ, stamen, ovule, etc.

  7. abortiveadjective

    Causing abortion; as, abortive medicines.

  8. abortiveadjective

    Cutting short; as, abortive treatment of typhoid fever.

  9. Etymology: * First attested in 1382, with meaning "causing stillbirth or miscarriage".

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Abortiveadjective

    Etymology: abortivus, Lat.

    If ever he have ’child, abortive be it,
    Prodigious, and untimely brought to light. William Shakespeare, Rich. III.

    All th’ unaccomplish’d works of nature’s hand,
    Abortive, monstrous, or unkindly mix’d,
    Dissolv’d on earth, fleet hither. Paradise Lost, b. iii. l. 456.

    This is the true cause, why so many politic conceptions, so elaborately formed and wrought, and grown at length ripe for delivery, do yet, in the issue, miscarry and prove abortive. Robert South, Sermons.

    False hopes
    He cherishes, nor will his fruit expect
    Th’ autumnal season, but, in summer’s pride
    When other orchards smile, abortive fail. Phillips.

    How often hast thou waited at my cup,
    Fed from my trencher, kneel’d down at the board,
    When I have feasted with queen Margaret?
    Remember it, and let it make thee crest-faln;
    Ay, and allay this thy abortive pride. William Shakespeare, Hen. VI. p. ii.

    These pass’d, if any pass, the void profound
    Of unessential night receives him next,
    Wide-gaping! and with utter loss of being
    Threatens him, plung’d in that abortive gulf. John Milton, Paradise Lost, b. ii. l. 451.

  2. Abortivenoun

    That which is born before the due time. See Abortive, adj.

    No common wind, no customed event,
    But they will pluck away its nat’ral causes,
    And call them meteors, prodigies, and signs,
    Abortives, and presages, tongues of heav’n
    Plainly denouncing vengeance upon John. William Shakespeare, K. John.

    Take the fine skin of an abortive, and, with starch thin laid on, prepare your ground or tablet. Henry Peacham, on Drawing.

    This is certain, that many are, by this means, preserved, and do signal service to their country, who, without such a provision, might have perished as abortives, or have come to an untimely end, and perhaps have brought, upon their guilty parents, the like destruction. Joseph Addison, Guardian, №. 106.

ChatGPT

  1. abortive

    Abortive refers to something that fails to produce the intended or expected outcome, that's unsuccessful or prematurely terminated. It is often used in the context of medical and biological processes, referring to the early termination or undeveloped state of something such as a disease, project, plan or pregnancy.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Abortive

    produced by abortion; born prematurely; as, an abortive child

  2. Abortive

    made from the skin of a still-born animal; as, abortive vellum

  3. Abortive

    rendering fruitless or ineffectual

  4. Abortive

    coming to naught; failing in its effect; miscarrying; fruitless; unsuccessful; as, an abortive attempt

  5. Abortive

    imperfectly formed or developed; rudimentary; sterile; as, an abortive organ, stamen, ovule, etc

  6. Abortive

    causing abortion; as, abortive medicines

  7. Abortive

    cutting short; as, abortive treatment of typhoid fever

  8. Abortivenoun

    that which is born or brought forth prematurely; an abortion

  9. Abortivenoun

    a fruitless effort or issue

  10. Abortivenoun

    a medicine to which is attributed the property of causing abortion

  11. Etymology: [L. abortivus, fr. aboriri. See Abort, v.]

How to pronounce abortive?

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of abortive in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of abortive in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of abortive in a Sentence

  1. Giuseppe Mazzini:

    Every Age has its own peculiar faith. Any attempt to translate into facts the mission of one Age with the machinery of another, can only end in an indefinite series of abortive efforts. Defeated by the utter want of proportion between the means and the end, such attempts might produce martyrs, but never lead to victory.

  2. William Hazlitt:

    Fashon is the abortive issue of vain ostentation and exclusive egotism it is haughty, trifling, affected, servile, despotic, mean and ambitious, precise and fantastical, all in a breath -- tied to no rule, and bound to conform to every whim of the minute.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

abortive#10000#72180#100000

Translations for abortive

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"abortive." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/abortive>.

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