abortion

abortion — noun

1. a medical procedure chosen by a pregnant woman to end her pregnancy on purpose,

1.nounC1
Definition

a medical procedure chosen by a pregnant woman to end her pregnancy on purpose, usually carried out in the early weeks.

Example

Maria decided to have an abortion after her doctor explained the serious health risks.

collocation: have an abortion

In some countries, doctors may only perform an abortion during the first twelve weeks.

collocation: perform an abortion + time-frame phrase

Common collocations
  • have an abortion
  • perform an abortion
  • safe abortion
  • legal abortion
  • abortion clinic
  • abortion rights
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

have an abortion

perform an abortion

Usage Note

Frequently appears in legal, political, and medical contexts. Distinguish from sense 2 (miscarriage): this sense always implies a deliberate choice and a medical procedure, never a natural event.

Common Mistakes

She had an abortion when she fell down the stairs.
She had a miscarriage when she fell down the stairs.
'abortion' implies a deliberate choice; an unintended loss is a 'miscarriage'.
The doctor made her an abortion.
The doctor performed an abortion.
use 'perform' or 'carry out', not 'make'.

2. in technical or veterinary writing, the natural loss of an unborn human or anima

2.nounC1
Definition

in technical or veterinary writing, the natural loss of an unborn human or animal foetus that leaves the body too soon to survive; in ordinary English, speakers normally say 'miscarriage' for humans.

Example

Cold weather and poor food can cause abortion in sheep during the winter months.

veterinary use: abortion in [animal]

The vet at the dairy farm investigated several recent abortions among the cows.

countable, plural: abortions among [animals]

Common collocations
  • spontaneous abortion
  • cause abortion in
  • abortion in cattle
Synonyms

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1: this sense describes an unintended event, not a chosen procedure. Outside veterinary or technical writing, 'miscarriage' is strongly preferred for humans because 'abortion' is widely heard as deliberate.

Common Mistakes

My friend was very sad after her abortion last month.' (when she meant losing the pregnancy naturally)
My friend was very sad after her miscarriage last month.
using 'abortion' here will sound like she made a choice.

3. an angry or disgusted way of describing a plan, product, or piece of work that h

3.noun
Definition

an angry or disgusted way of describing a plan, product, or piece of work that has gone completely wrong or looks horrible.

Example

Critics called the new bridge in Glasgow an absolute abortion of a design.

pattern: an abortion of a + noun

Bram muttered that the team's first match of the season was a total abortion.

intensifier: total / absolute abortion

Common collocations
  • a total abortion
  • an absolute abortion
  • an abortion of a
Synonyms
  • disaster

    much safer everyday choice for a failed plan

  • fiasco

    stresses public, embarrassing failure, without offensive overtones

  • monstrosity

    matches the 'extremely ugly' shade of meaning

Antonyms
  • success

    neutral opposite for the failure shade

  • triumph

    stronger opposite for a clearly impressive result

Grammar Patterns

a + abortion + of + noun

Usage Note

Highly informal and offensive to many readers because of overlap with sense 1; use only with caution in writing. Often takes intensifiers like 'total', 'absolute', or 'complete', and the pattern 'an abortion of a [noun]'.

Common Mistakes

My exam grade was a small abortion.
My exam grade was a total disaster.
this sense almost always carries strong intensifiers and harsh tone; mild use sounds wrong.

Word family

  • abort
    verbC1
  • aborted
    adjectiveC1
  • abortive
    adjectiveC2
  • abortionist
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These four words all describe a pregnancy that does not result in a living newborn, but they differ sharply in cause and tone. 'Abortion' (sense 1) and 'termination' both refer to a deliberate medical procedure; 'termination' sounds more clinical and is often preferred in British hospitals and on patient forms, while 'abortion' dominates legal and political discussion. 'Miscarriage' is the everyday word for an unplanned, natural loss in early pregnancy, and is strongly preferred over 'spontaneous abortion' in conversation because it carries no suggestion of choice. 'Stillbirth' is reserved for a baby born dead after a much later stage of pregnancy, typically after 24 weeks. Compare: 'She chose to have an abortion / a termination'; 'She had a miscarriage at ten weeks'; 'The couple were grieving after a stillbirth at full term.'

abortion ↗terminationmiscarriagestillbirth

Common collocations

Nouns

  • abortion clinic
  • abortion rights
  • abortion law
  • abortion debate
  • abortion services

Adverbs

Phrases

  • have an abortion
  • perform an abortion
  • right to abortion
  • access to abortion

Prepositions

  • abortion of (a foetus)
  • abortion in (sheep / cattle)

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Borrowed into English in the 1500s from Latin 'abortio', a noun built on 'aboriri', meaning 'to miscarry' or 'to fail to come into being'. That Latin verb joins 'ab-' ('away, off') with 'oriri' ('to rise, be born'), so the literal idea is 'a failure to be born'. Early English use covered both natural miscarriage and induced ending of a pregnancy, and only in modern medical writing did the two meanings split apart. The figurative 'total failure' sense grew out of the same root image of something that never properly developed.