abortverb
uk/əˈbɔːt/us/əˈbɔːrt/abort verb (STOP)
[ T ] to cause something to stop or fail before it begins or before it is complete:
The plan/flight had to be aborted at the last minute.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Causing something to end
- abandon
- all good things (must) come to an end idiom
- and have done with it idiom
- be over the hump idiom
- bitter
- draw
- knock off (sth)
- lay
- lay sth to rest idiom
- lay the ghost of sth (to rest) idiom
- leave it at that idiom
- leave off (sth/doing sth)
- lift
- raise
- stone-dead
- suppression
- the curtain falls on sth idiom
- to the bitter end idiom
- top sth off
- walk
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abort verb (END PREGNANCY)
[ T ] to stop the development of a baby that has not been born, usually by having a medical operation:
Do you think it's wrong to use aborted foetuses for medical research?
[ I ] another word for miscarry (miscarriage)
More examples
- This change in the law would make abortion illegal except for strictly defined medical reasons.
- We're conducting a poll to find out what people think about abortion.
- Some women choose to have an abortion rather than care for a severely disabled child.
- Her husband longed for children, and she had an abortion without telling him.
- Many women die or become infertile as a result of unsafe abortions.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Obstetrics: pregnancy
- anti-choice
- artificial insemination
- backstreet abortion
- carry
- child
- conceive
- ectopic pregnancy
- embryo
- embryonic
- expect
- family
- fruitful
- full-term
- have a bun in the oven idiom
- IVF
- late-term
- pro-choice
- pro-life
- surrogacy
- trouble
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