as in unsuccessful
producing no results
an abortive attempt to recover the sunken pirate ship
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of abortive
Garbowit recalls that there were only around sixteen members of Congress lined up behind Thanedor’s abortive resolution—so the fact that Green’s follow-up motion garnered seventy-nine supporters in the caucus is a sign of progress.
—
Chris Lehmann, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
On the one hand, as Tevye is fond of saying, the story unfolds in a hardscrabble shtetl in the Ukrainian plains in the months leading up to the Russian Empire’s abortive 1905 revolution.
—David Lyman, The Enquirer, 25 July 2025
Brat Summer, last year’s abortive attempt to turn the screechy Charli XCX album of that name into a culture-spanning event, has given way to a season without name or form.
—Armin Rosen, The Washington Examiner, 25 July 2025
Netanyahu could also try to replace Halevi with a more pliant chief of the general staff, but doing so would be legally and politically fraught and would likely cause even more public outrage than his abortive dismissal of Gallant.
—Risa Brooks, Foreign Affairs, 9 May 2023
See All Example Sentences for abortive
Chris Lehmann, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
On the one hand, as Tevye is fond of saying, the story unfolds in a hardscrabble shtetl in the Ukrainian plains in the months leading up to the Russian Empire’s abortive 1905 revolution.
—David Lyman, The Enquirer, 25 July 2025
Brat Summer, last year’s abortive attempt to turn the screechy Charli XCX album of that name into a culture-spanning event, has given way to a season without name or form.
—Armin Rosen, The Washington Examiner, 25 July 2025
Netanyahu could also try to replace Halevi with a more pliant chief of the general staff, but doing so would be legally and politically fraught and would likely cause even more public outrage than his abortive dismissal of Gallant.
—Risa Brooks, Foreign Affairs, 9 May 2023
See All Example Sentences for abortive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abortive
Adjective
-
These therapies are not universally successful, of course, but can often save lives and defeat cancers where other methods are unsuccessful.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Symptoms include cravings, unsuccessful quit attempts, tolerance and withdrawal.—
Melissa Rudy,
FOXNews.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The metallic sheets cannot stop the damage Echard seeks to impose on her canvases, much like those tinfoil hats that some use in confused, futile efforts to shield themselves from pernicious invisible forces.—
Theo Belci,
Artforum,
1 Feb. 2026
-
But other professors, perhaps concluding that resistance is futile, are adjusting to the media their students grew up on.—
Rose Horowitch,
The Atlantic,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Abortive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abortive. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
