abortive

Abortive is an adjective meaning failing to achieve the intended result or not coming to full development. It is used to describe attempts, processes, or outcomes that end prematurely or do not reach fruition. In everyday language the phrase “an abortive attempt” signals a failure to complete a planned action. In clinical and biological contexts the term has more specific uses.

In medicine and biology, abortive describes interventions intended to interrupt a process in its early stages. Abortive therapy aims to stop symptoms or disease progression before a full course develops; for example, abortive treatment of an acute migraine seeks to halt the attack quickly. In obstetrics, spontaneous abortion is an historical clinical term for miscarriage; more contemporary language favors “miscarriage” or “pregnancy loss.” Conversely, an abortifacient is a drug or agent that terminates a pregnancy.

In botany and zoology, an abortive seed, fruit, or embryo is one that begins development but fails to reach maturity, often due to developmental disruption, genetic factors, or environmental stress.

In broader usage, “abortive” can describe plans, revolutions, or projects that fail to reach completion or to accomplish their objectives. The word carries a neutral to descriptive tone and is commonly found in scholarly, clinical, and historical writing.