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abortion

abortion

11 7.0
Failure of a plan or project before it finishes
  • noun
  • /əˈbɔːrʃən/
translation icon : cancelación
  • After multiple setbacks, the new marketing campaign faced an unfortunate abortion before its official launch.

And if it isn't correct, well, then we're a evolutionary abortion because that's who we are.

Examples

  • The project was halted due to an unforeseen abortion that left the team scrambling to meet their deadlines.

  • Spontaneous abortions occur in 1 out of 6 pregnancies; 60% of those have chromosomal abnormalities.

    Academic text (2004)
  • Several reasons for flower and fruit abortion have been determined for other species.

    Academic text (2001)
  • Altogether, nearly one-third of all abortions in the country are performed on women in schools.

    Academic text (1992)
  • Few, if any, research projects have been conducted on the incidence of spontaneous abortions recorded in military hospitals.

    Academic text (1992)
  • The disease in animals is characterized by abortions among pregnant females and high mortality rates for offspring (1).

    Academic text (2014)
  • The team's efforts led to an abrupt abortion of the plan, but they quickly pivoted to a new strategy.

Synonyms

miscarriage
vsabortion
14 7.4

Failure of a plan or action to get the result people wanted

is the same meaning expressed with a different word form

Antonyms

1.0

Getting what you want after working hard

108 2.4

The act of finishing a task or project

Compounds

A medical procedure late in pregnancy where the unborn baby is partly delivered and then removed

7 3.7

The rules a country or state has about when and how people can legally end a pregnancy

A doctor who performs abortions

abortion pill
  • Specialized
4 4.9

A drug taken to end an early pregnancy without surgery

induced abortion
  • Specialized
2 5.0

To end a pregnancy on purpose using medicine or an operation

1 6.5

A drug that ends a pregnancy by causing the body to remove the unborn baby

spontaneous abortion
  • Specialized
1 5.5

Loss of a pregnancy that happens naturally before the baby is born

abortion mill
  • Offensive
1 9.3

A clinic that ends pregnancies and is criticized for doing many of them

contagious abortion
  • Specialized
8.8

An illness that spreads among farm animals and makes pregnant animals lose their unborn young and can infect people

A person who opposes abortion and joins protests or campaigns

habitual abortion
  • Specialized
8.7

A condition of repeated miscarriage with no clear cause

imminent abortion
  • Specialized
8.2

Symptoms that show a miscarriage is likely to happen soon

incomplete abortion
  • Specialized
7.7

Tissue from a pregnancy that stays inside the womb after a miscarriage or abortion

9.0

A pregnancy that ends while some tissue stays in the womb

therapeutic abortion
  • Specialized
5.9

A legal medical ending of a pregnancy to protect the mother's life or health

threatened abortion
  • Specialized
8.0

Bleeding or cramping in early pregnancy that may cause miscarriage but may not

How Complete

success
1.0
abortion
11 7.0

Surface Forms

abortion singular
abortions plural

Morphology

abortion = abort (semi-transparent) = abort + ion

The noun is derived from 'abort' but used metaphorically for a project failure, a contextual extension that learners may not automatically infer.

Etymology

Abortion comes from Latin parts ab- ('away') and oriri ('to rise' or 'be born'), so it once meant something that fails to be born; by metaphor it now also means a plan or project that stops and never reaches completion.