ABORTION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does abortion mean? 

• ABORTION (noun)
  The noun ABORTION has 2 senses:

1. termination of pregnancy

2. failure of a plan

  Familiarity information: ABORTION used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ABORTION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Termination of pregnancy

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("abortion" is a kind of...):

conclusion; ending; termination (the act of ending something)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "abortion"):

miscarriage; spontaneous abortion; stillbirth (a natural loss of the products of conception)

induced abortion (a deliberate termination of pregnancy)

Derivation:

abort (terminate a pregnancy by undergoing an abortion)

abortionist (a person (who should be a doctor) who terminates pregnancies)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Failure of a plan

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

abortion; miscarriage

Hypernyms ("abortion" is a kind of...):

failure (an event that does not accomplish its intended purpose)

Derivation:

abort (terminate before completion)

 Context examples 

A rare, highly malignant, epithelial tumor that develops from a hydatidiform mole (50%), following abortion (25%), or during normal pregnancy (22%).

(Gestational Choriocarcinoma, NCI Thesaurus)

It is associated with pregnancy or abortion.

(Exaggerated Placental Site, NCI Thesaurus)

I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

Helicobacter rappini are pathogenic, causing abortion in animals and diarrheal symptoms in humans.

(Helicobacter rappini, NCI Thesaurus)

A type of abortion where the product of conception is accessed through a surgical incision on the corpus uteri intended to terminate the pregnancy.

(Hysterotomy Abortion, NCI Thesaurus)

Abortion: When does life begin? Is it ethical to terminate a pregnancy with a birth defect?

(Medical Ethics, NIH)

It has been used for inducing abortions, repelling fleas and ticks, and for treating illnesses of the digestive system.

(Pennyroyal Oil, NCI Thesaurus)

In sheep and cattle this bacterium is known to cause abortions, infertility, enteritis and bovine genital campylobacteriosis.

(Campylobacter fetus, NCI Thesaurus)

B. canis is found in canines where it can cause abortions and causes brucellosis in humans.

(Brucella canis, NCI Thesaurus)

If you are thinking of having an abortion, most healthcare providers advise counseling.

(Abortion, NIH)