abortive

/əˈbɔːtɪv/ (bre, ipa) · /əˈbɔːrtɪv/ (ame, ipa) · /ə-ˈbȯr-tiv/ (ame, mw)

abortive — adjective

  • abortivepositive
  • more abortivecomparative
  • most abortivesuperlative

1. used for a plan, effort, or event that fails and is cut short before it can full

1.形容詞C1
釋義

used for a plan, effort, or event that fails and is cut short before it can fully happen

例句

Officials abandoned the abortive peace talks after two days of violence.

abortive + peace talks in formal reporting

An abortive rescue mission left the hikers on the ridge overnight.

abortive + mission

同義詞
  • failed

    more direct and less formal; it simply says that something did not succeed

  • unsuccessful

    neutral and broader; common in reports about plans, searches, and applications

  • fruitless

    stresses wasted effort that produced nothing useful

反義詞
  • successful

    achieving the intended result instead of breaking down

文法句型

abortive + attempt/plan/talks/coup

be abortive

用法筆記

Most often placed before nouns such as attempt, plan, talks, coup, or mission. It is more formal than failed and often suggests that something stopped before reaching a full outcome.

常見錯誤

❌The meeting was abortive even though both sides signed the deal.
✅The talks were abortive because both sides walked out before any deal was signed.
💡abortive suggests that an effort broke down or stopped before it was completed.
❌The engineers abortive the launch after the alarm sounded.
✅The engineers aborted the launch after the alarm sounded.
💡abortive is an adjective; abort is the verb.