progestin

noun

pro·ges·tin prō-ˈje-stən

: progestogen

especially : a synthetic progesterone (such as levonorgestrel)

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Most birth control pills used in the US today contain a combination of progestin and estrogen. —

Matthew Perrone, BostonGlobe.com, 10 May 2023 Opill is a once-a-day pill containing only progestin. —

Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 10 May 2023 Progesterone is the naturally occurring hormone in the body, while progestin is a synthetic hormone that mimics progesterone. —

Joshua Cohen, Forbes, 4 May 2023 Women in the new study all used the type of hormone therapy — the estrogen and progestin mix — that was used by the women in the Women’s Health Initiative clinical trial that caused so much controversy, Coughlan said. —

Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 3 Apr. 2023 The other contains progestin and a synthetic version of the hormone estrogen. —

Laurie Mcginley, Rachel Roubein And Akilah Johnson, Anchorage Daily News, 4 May 2023 Some of those medicines include:9 Hormone therapy: Contraceptives that use estrogen and progestin to prevent pregnancy may reduce period flu symptoms. —

Madeleine Burry, Health, 9 Mar. 2023 That preliminary analysis found an estrogen and progestin combo — the type of HRT prescribed at the time — increased the risk of heart disease as well as stroke, blood clots, dementia and breast cancer. —

Sandee Lamotte, CNN, 3 Apr. 2023 But estrogen, not progestin, accounts for most of the blood clot risk associated with oral contraceptives. —

Christine Fernando, USA TODAY, 30 Mar. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'progestin.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler

The first known use of progestin was in 1945

See more words from the same year