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Antonyms for abortive

Grammar : Adj
Spell : uh-bawr-tiv
Phonetic Transcription : əˈbɔr tɪv

Definition of abortive

Origin :
  • late 14c., "born prematurely or dead," from Latin abortivus "pertaining to miscarriage; causing abortion," from abort-, past participle stem of aboriri "disappear, miscarry," from ab- "amiss" (see ab-) + oriri "appear, be born, arise" (see orchestra); the compound word used in Latin for deaths, miscarriages, sunsets, etc. The Latin verb for "to produce an abortion" was abigo, literally "to drive away." Not originally used to imply forced or deliberate miscarriage; from 14c.-18c. stillborn children or domestic animals were said to be abortive. Also see abortion. Related: Abortiveness.
  • adj failing to achieve a goal
Example sentences :
  • And yet it was ministered to, in a dull and abortive manner, by all who made this feint.
  • Extract from : « The Uncommercial Traveller » by Charles Dickens
  • Thus the efforts of Malique proved as abortive as the ravings of his master.
  • Extract from : « Gomez Arias » by Joaqun Telesforo de Trueba y Coso
  • They are abortive births of an imperfect or vitiated instinct.
  • Extract from : « Essays, First Series » by Ralph Waldo Emerson
  • And as passive resistance was their attitude, his purging scheme was abortive.
  • Extract from : « England and Germany » by Emile Joseph Dillon
  • There had been in the early part of the day an abortive effort at a procession.
  • Extract from : « Jack Hinton » by Charles James Lever
  • In spite of his efforts it was abortive, and he was compelled to use another.
  • Extract from : « The Trail of '98 » by Robert W. Service
  • In Brazil, a Nazi-directed abortive Putsch took place in 1938.
  • Extract from : « Secret Armies » by John L. Spivak
  • That is abortive that is untimely, that has not been borne its full time, that is immature.
  • Extract from : « The Verbalist » by Thomas Embly Osmun, (AKA Alfred Ayres)
  • It had been three years since she had tried her abortive love-affair with him.
  • Extract from : « The Good Soldier » by Ford Madox Ford
  • Besides, in addition to abortive hypotheses, there are dethroned ones.
  • Extract from : « Essay on the Creative Imagination » by Th. Ribot

Synonyms for abortive

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019