Abortive — A*bor tive, a. [L. abortivus, fr. aboriri. See {Abort}, v.] 1. Produced by abortion; born prematurely; as, an abortive child. [R.] [1913 Webster] 2. Made from the skin of a still born animal; as, abortive vellum. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] 3.… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Abortive — may refer to: Abortion of pregnancy Abortive infection, a viral infection that infects a cell without reproducing into more infectious viruses. Abortive flower, a flower with a stamen but no pistil. This disambiguation page lists articles… … Wikipedia
abortive — (adj.) late 14c., born prematurely or dead, from L. abortivus pertaining to miscarriage; causing abortion, from abort , pp. stem of aboriri disappear, miscarry, from ab amiss (see AB (Cf. ab )) + oriri appear, be born, arise (see ORCHESTRA (Cf … Etymology dictionary
Abortive — A*bor tive, n. 1. That which is born or brought forth prematurely; an abortion. [Obs.] Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. A fruitless effort or issue. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] 3. A medicine to which is attributed the property of causing abortion; also called… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
abortive — index futile, imperfect, ineffective, ineffectual, otiose, unavailing, unproductive Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton … Law dictionary
abortive — fruitless, vain, *futile, bootless Analogous words: *immature, unmatured, unripe: unformed (see FORMLESS): ineffectual, *ineffective, inefficacious: unfortunate, unlucky (see affirmative adjectives at LUCKY) Antonyms: consummated Contrasted words … New Dictionary of Synonyms
abortive — [adj] failing to achieve a goal failed, failing, fruitless, futile, ineffective, ineffectual, miscarried, unavailing, unproductive, unsuccessful, useless, vain, worthless; concept 528 Ant. complete, consummated, effectual, efficient, fruitful,… … New thesaurus
abortive — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ failing to produce the intended result; unsuccessful. DERIVATIVES abortively adverb … English terms dictionary
abortive — [ə bôrt′iv] adj. [ME abortif < L abortivus: see ABORT] 1. coming to nothing; unsuccessful; fruitless 2. Biol. arrested in development; rudimentary 3. Med. a) causing abortion b) halting a disease process … English World dictionary
Abortive — The word abortive has a number of meanings including prematurely born; fruitless or unsuccessful; imperfectly formed or developed; tending to cut short. In everyday language, the sense of abortive to mean prematurely born, as an abortive child,… … Medical dictionary
