as in unsuccessful
producing no results
an abortive attempt to recover the sunken pirate ship
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Recent Examples of abortive
Yet Texas law forbids its state maternal mortality review committee from looking into the deaths of patients who received an abortive procedure or medication, even in cases of miscarriage.
—
Ziva Branstetter, ProPublica, 17 Jan. 2025
Trump had abortive talks with Democrats on issues ranging from guns to immigration, though little came of them.
—W. James Antle Iii, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 4 Jan. 2025
One is Eliot Spitzer, who during his abortive tenure as governor, knocked heads to get slow-mo insurers to pay the giant settlement that a court had awarded to Silverstein.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 11 Sep. 2024
The picture arrives, of course, at a fallow time for Marvel after a string of duds and an abortive attempt to introduce a new superhero phase following the climactic, stage-clearing (and absurdly lucrative) battles of Avengers: Endgame.
—Zoe Guy, Vulture, 25 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for abortive
Ziva Branstetter, ProPublica, 17 Jan. 2025
Trump had abortive talks with Democrats on issues ranging from guns to immigration, though little came of them.
—W. James Antle Iii, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 4 Jan. 2025
One is Eliot Spitzer, who during his abortive tenure as governor, knocked heads to get slow-mo insurers to pay the giant settlement that a court had awarded to Silverstein.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 11 Sep. 2024
The picture arrives, of course, at a fallow time for Marvel after a string of duds and an abortive attempt to introduce a new superhero phase following the climactic, stage-clearing (and absurdly lucrative) battles of Avengers: Endgame.
—Zoe Guy, Vulture, 25 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for abortive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abortive
Adjective
-
But the Supreme Court denied the court order and requests to President Donald Trump from family, supporters and her attorney were unsuccessful.—
Nicole Acosta,
People.com,
19 Apr. 2025
-
Meanwhile, Min and Chris’ closest friends, Kelly Marie Tran’s Angela, a research scientist, and Lily Gladstone’s Lee, an Indigenous community organizer, have been struggling to conceive a child; Lee has just found out that her second round of IVF has been unsuccessful.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Another recommendation: Attacking Trump’s character, however abhorrent critics may find it, is futile.—
Garry Kasparov,
The Atlantic,
17 Apr. 2025
-
Regardless, returning him would be futile, said the president’s aides, as his ultimate fate would be imprisonment, in the United States or elsewhere.—
Michael Wilner,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Abortive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abortive. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
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