abortion
Pluralabortions
- 1The deliberate ending of a pregnancy using medicine or a medical procedure.
She decided to have an abortion early in the pregnancy.
The clinic provides safe abortions to patients who need them.
Similartermination
Note
- 2The unplanned loss of a pregnancy at an early stage, also called a miscarriage.
The vet said the cow had suffered an abortion last spring.
Repeated abortions can be a sign of an underlying health problem.
Similarmiscarriage
Note
- 3
- 4A badly shaped or ugly person or thing, like a monster.
Like a drawing where nothing is in the right place.
The old statue was an abortion of cracked plaster and rust.
He called the new building an ugly abortion of glass and steel.
Similarmonstrosity, abomination, eyesore
Note
- 5An unborn baby that has been lost or expelled before birth.
The midwife wrapped the abortion in linen and carried it away.
‘It seems too hairy for an abortion, and too small for a mature birth.’
1791, James Boswell, Life of JohnsonHere, abortion refers to an unborn baby lost or expelled before birth.Note
- 6The end of a pregnancy when the growing baby comes out of the womb too early and cannot live.
- 7The stopping of an organ's growth, so it stays unfinished or is taken back into the body.
- 8The stopping of an illness in its very early stage, before it can fully develop.
Practice
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Origin
It comes from a Latin word meaning "miscarriage," from a verb meaning "to miscarry."