progestin

noun

pro·​ges·​tin prō-ˈje-stən 

: a synthetic progestogen (such as levonorgestrel)

Examples of progestin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Pharmaceutical companies laid low for a while, then added progestin to counter estrogen’s cancer-causing effects and launched a new promotional campaign. —Patricia Bencivenga, STAT, 8 Jan. 2026

The Depo-Provera regimen consists of a progestin injection given every three months. —Zinhle Essamuah, NBC news, 16 Dec. 2025

Newer, safer formulations of estrogen and progestin have also emerged. —C. Michael White, The Conversation, 13 Nov. 2025

Some experts attribute the difference here to the type of concentrated synthetic progestin included in HRT pills at the time, called medroxyprogesterone acetate. —Erica Sloan, SELF, 10 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

progest(ational) + -in entry 1, originally as a name for progesterone

Note: The name was introduced by the American gynecologist and biochemist Willard M. Allen (1904-93) in "Physiology of the Corpus Luteum V. The Preparation and Some Chemical Properties of Progestin, a Hormone of the Corpus Luteum which Produces Progestational Proliferation," Amerian Journal of Physiology, vol. 92, issue 1 (February, 1930), pp. 174-88.

First Known Use

1945, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for progestin

• clandestine
• intestine

Medical Definition

progestin

noun

pro·​ges·​tin prō-ˈjest-ən 

: a synthetic progestogen (such as levonorgestrel)