abortion

/əˈbɔːʃn/ (bre, ipa) · /əˈbɔːrʃn/ (ame, ipa) · /ə-ˈbȯr-shən/ (ame, mw)

abortion — 名詞

  • abortionsingular
  • abortionsplural

1. a medical procedure chosen by a pregnant woman to end her pregnancy on purpose,

1.名詞C1
釋義

墮胎；人流

孕婦主動結束懷孕的醫療行為

a medical procedure chosen by a pregnant woman to end her pregnancy on purpose, usually carried out in the early weeks.

例句

Maria decided to have an abortion after her doctor explained the serious health risks.

醫師說明嚴重的健康風險後，瑪利亞決定接受墮胎。

collocation: have an abortion

In some countries, doctors may only perform an abortion during the first twelve weeks.

在部分國家，醫師只能在懷孕前十二週內施行人工流產。

collocation: perform an abortion + time-frame phrase

同義詞

文法句型

have an abortion

perform an abortion

用法筆記

Frequently appears in legal, political, and medical contexts. Distinguish from sense 2 (miscarriage): this sense always implies a deliberate choice and a medical procedure, never a natural event.

常見錯誤

❌She had an abortion when she fell down the stairs.
✅She had a miscarriage when she fell down the stairs.
💡'abortion' implies a deliberate choice; an unintended loss is a 'miscarriage'.
❌The doctor made her an abortion.
✅The doctor performed an abortion.
💡use 'perform' or 'carry out', not 'make'.

2. in technical or veterinary writing, the natural loss of an unborn human or anima

2.名詞C1
釋義

流產；小產

胎兒過早離開母體而死亡的非主動事件

in technical or veterinary writing, the natural loss of an unborn human or animal foetus that leaves the body too soon to survive; in ordinary English, speakers normally say 'miscarriage' for humans.

例句

Cold weather and poor food can cause abortion in sheep during the winter months.

冬季的寒冷天氣與飼料不良，可能導致綿羊在這段期間流產。

veterinary use: abortion in [animal]

The vet at the dairy farm investigated several recent abortions among the cows.

酪農場的獸醫調查了最近幾起母牛流產的案例。

countable, plural: abortions among [animals]

同義詞

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 1: this sense describes an unintended event, not a chosen procedure. Outside veterinary or technical writing, 'miscarriage' is strongly preferred for humans because 'abortion' is widely heard as deliberate.

常見錯誤

❌My friend was very sad after her abortion last month.' (when she meant losing the pregnancy naturally)
✅My friend was very sad after her miscarriage last month.
💡using 'abortion' here will sound like she made a choice.

3. an angry or disgusted way of describing a plan, product, or piece of work that h

3.名詞
釋義

失敗品；爛貨

粗俗形容極差或極醜的人事物

an angry or disgusted way of describing a plan, product, or piece of work that has gone completely wrong or looks horrible.

例句

Critics called the new bridge in Glasgow an absolute abortion of a design.

評論家稱格拉斯哥那座新橋的設計簡直是一場大災難。

pattern: an abortion of a + noun

Bram muttered that the team's first match of the season was a total abortion.

馬可斯嘀咕著說球隊本季首戰根本是一場徹底的失敗。

intensifier: total / absolute abortion

同義詞
  • disaster

    much safer everyday choice for a failed plan

  • fiasco

    stresses public, embarrassing failure, without offensive overtones

  • monstrosity

    matches the 'extremely ugly' shade of meaning

反義詞
  • success

    neutral opposite for the failure shade

  • triumph

    stronger opposite for a clearly impressive result

文法句型

a + abortion + of + noun

用法筆記

Highly informal and offensive to many readers because of overlap with sense 1; use only with caution in writing. Often takes intensifiers like 'total', 'absolute', or 'complete', and the pattern 'an abortion of a [noun]'.

常見錯誤

❌My exam grade was a small abortion.
✅My exam grade was a total disaster.
💡this sense almost always carries strong intensifiers and harsh tone; mild use sounds wrong.