abortion

/əˈbɔɹ.ʃn̩/

//əˈbɔɹ.ʃn̩// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"abortion" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“abortion” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,733. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,733
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The expulsion from the womb of a foetus or embryo before it is fully developed, with loss of the foetus.

Corpus desk

Index EN-abortion · abortion · English

abortion · rank #4,733 · 12 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,733
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH ABC

Nearest frequency peer: ABC (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “abortion”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “abortion” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

abortion vs adoption
75% similar
abortion vs abortive
75% similar
abortion vs adoration
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for abortion
PropertyValue
Headwordabortion
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əˈbɔɹ.ʃn̩/
Letters8
Frequency rank#4,733
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “abortion”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).abortionlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “ABC” (#4,732), “accuracy” (#4,734), “8th” (#4,731). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “abortion” is #4,733. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around abortion (IPA /əˈbɔɹ.ʃn̩/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,733 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for abortion, with forms such as "abbortion", "aboriton", and "aborrtion". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "adoption", "abortive", "adoration", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Latin abortiōnem (“miscarriage, abortion”), from aborior (“to miscarry”). Equivalent to abort + -ion. Displaced native Old English ǣwyrp (literally “throwing out, rejection”). The correct English form is abortion, spelled A-B-O-R-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The expulsion from the womb of a foetus or embryo before it is fully developed, with loss of the foetus.
  2. 2
    The expulsion from the womb of a foetus or embryo before it is fully developed, with loss of the foetus.
  3. 3
    An aborted foetus; an abortus.
  4. 4
    A misshapen person or thing; a monstrosity.
  5. 5
    Failure or abandonment of a project, promise, goal etc.
  6. 6
    Arrest of development of any organ, so that it remains an imperfect formation or is absorbed.
  7. 7
    The cessation of an illness or disease at a very early stage.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how abortion appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Swines-bread, so used, doth not onely speed / A tardy labour; but (without great heed) / If over it a Child-great Woman stride, / Instant abortion often doth betide.
  2. At any time after impregnation, abortion may take place: it is one of the most common complaints of pregnancy, whence it is a matter of no small consequence that every practitioner should well understand it.

Etymology

From Latin abortiōnem (“miscarriage, abortion”), from aborior (“to miscarry”). Equivalent to abort + -ion. Displaced native Old English ǣwyrp (literally “throwing out, rejection”).

Synonyms

abortabortusaborticidefeticidefoeticideterminationaborticideembryoctonyfeticidefoeticideterminationmiscarriagemisbirth

This word in other languages

aborto(Español)avortement(Français)Abtreibung(Deutsch)aborto(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • abbortion
  • aboriton
  • aborrtion
  • aborsion
  • abortino
  • abortionn
  • abortoin
  • aborttion
  • abotrion
  • abrotion
  • aobrtion
  • baortion

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of abortion - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

abbortion1aboriton2aborrtion1aborsion1abortino2abortionn1abortoin2aborttion1
Edit distance from "abortion"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "abortion"?
"abortion" is spelled A-B-O-R-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈbɔɹ.ʃn̩/.
What does "abortion" mean?
As a noun, "abortion" means: The expulsion from the womb of a foetus or embryo before it is fully developed, with loss of the foetus.
What words are commonly confused with "abortion"?
"abortion" is commonly confused with "adoption", "abortive", "adoration". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "abortion"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "abortion" is /əˈbɔɹ.ʃn̩/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "abortion"?
From Latin abortiōnem (“miscarriage, abortion”), from aborior (“to miscarry”). Equivalent to abort + -ion. Displaced native Old English ǣwyrp (literally “throwing out, rejection”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "abortion", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

accuracy#4,734applying#4,736tracking#4,721counties#4,748

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

democrat12 variantsIndonesia12 variantsspeakers12 variantssprings12 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list