abortive

About 1.40 uses per million words.

Meaning

1. adjective Produced by abortion; born prematurely and therefore unnatural. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller}

   an abortive child

2. adjective Coming to nothing; failing in its effect. .

   an abortive attempt

3. adjective Imperfectly formed or developed; rudimentary; sterile.

   an abortive organ

4. adjective Causing abortion; abortifacient.
5. adjective Cutting short; acting to halt or slow the progress (of a disease).

   abortive treatment of typhoid fever

6. adjective Having a short and mild progression, without pronounced symptoms.
7. adjective Made from the skin of a still-born animal.

   abortive vellum

8. noun Someone or something born or brought forth prematurely; an abortion.

Similar words

stillborn unfruitful unsuccessful aborted frustrated foiled vain bankrupt futile short-lived

Often followed by

attempt attempts coup and effort efforts revolution by attack

Word family

abortively abortiveness abortivenesses