abortion

11 synonyms and 5 antonyms for abortion, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Noun — The deliberate ending of a pregnancy before the foetus can survive on its own.

Synonyms

Less common

Still standard English, but they carry more weight.

miscarriage termination

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

pregnancy loss spontaneous abortion induced abortion abort abortus aborticide embryoctony foeticide feticide

Synonyms by Meaning

1. noun

The deliberate ending of a pregnancy before the foetus can survive on its own.

“She travelled to another city to have an abortion.”

miscarriage pregnancy loss spontaneous abortion induced abortion abort abortus aborticide embryoctony foeticide feticide termination

2. noun

The failure or collapse of a plan, project, or process partway through.

“The sudden abortion of the rocket launch disappointed the waiting crowd.”

Opposites

realization completion achievement success consummation

How to use abortion

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

have an abortion abortion rights spontaneous abortion

A sensitive, often politically charged topic; medical and legal writing use it neutrally, but tone matters a lot in everyday conversation.

Etymology

From Latin abortio, "miscarriage," built from the verb aborior, "to fail to be born" or "to miscarry" — the same root gives us "abort."

Full origin of abortion →

Frequently asked questions

What does “abortion” mean?

The word “abortion” means the deliberate ending of a pregnancy before the foetus can survive on its own. In plain terms, ending a pregnancy before birth, either on purpose (a medical procedure) or naturally (a miscarriage) — context usually makes clear which.

How do you pronounce “abortion”?

“Abortion” is pronounced uh-BAWR-shn (/əˈbɔɹ.ʃn̩/ in IPA).

How do you use “abortion” in a sentence?

Here is “abortion” used in a sentence: “She travelled to another city to have an abortion.”

What is another word for “abortion”?

Words with a similar meaning to “abortion” include abort, abortus, aborticide, embryoctony, foeticide and feticide.

What part of speech is “abortion”?

“Abortion” is a noun.

Where does the word “abortion” come from?

The word “abortion” comes from Latin. From Latin abortio, "miscarriage," built from the verb aborior, "to fail to be born" or "to miscarry" — the same root gives us "abort.".

Is “abortion” a common word?

“Abortion” is a fairly common word in modern English.

How many meanings does “abortion” have?

“Abortion” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: the deliberate ending of a pregnancy before the foetus can survive on its own.

What is the difference between an abortion and a miscarriage?

In everyday use, 'abortion' usually means the deliberate ending of a pregnancy, while a 'miscarriage' is a pregnancy that ends naturally and too early to produce a surviving baby. In older medical language, a miscarriage was also called a 'spontaneous abortion.'

What is the difference between abortion and termination?

'Termination,' short for 'termination of pregnancy,' is a more clinical and neutral synonym for a deliberate abortion. Both words describe the same procedure, but 'termination' is often preferred in medical settings.

Why is a miscarriage sometimes called a 'spontaneous abortion'?

In medicine, 'abortion' broadly means the ending of a pregnancy before the foetus can survive on its own. A miscarriage happens naturally rather than by intention, so it is technically a 'spontaneous abortion,' while a deliberate one is called an 'induced abortion.'

People also searched

success achievement completion realization termination miscarriage abort aborticide embryoctony consummation feticide abortus

Nearby words

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