abortion
/əˈbɔɹ.ʃn̩/noun
abortion is spelled A-B-O-R-T-I-O-N: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 17 times per million words in written English, the 4,752nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, abortion means “A spontaneous abortion; a miscarriage” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of abortion is abortions.
How many letters and syllables are in abortion?
| Letters | 8: A-B-O-R-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 17 times per million words; the 4,752nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is abortion?
Abortion appears 17 times per million words in written English, the 4,752nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce abortion?
- US /əˈbɔɹ.ʃn̩/
Abortion has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-abortion.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of abortion
- abortions plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does abortion mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A spontaneous abortion; a miscarriage.
- 2
An induced abortion.
Mary decided to have an abortion because she was too young to raise a baby.
- 3
archaicAn aborted foetus; an abortus.
- 4
A misshapen person or thing; a monstrosity.
- 5
Failure or abandonment of a project, promise, goal etc.
- 6
Arrest of development of any organ, so that it remains an imperfect formation or is absorbed.
- 7
The cessation of an illness or disease at a very early stage.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate abortion?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of abortion: ab.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Abortion in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | avortement , interruption volontaire de grossesse, IVG , avorton |
| German | Abtreibung, Schwangerschaftsabbruch |
| Portuguese | aborto induzido, aborto , abortamento , abandono |
| Spanish | aborto, aborto inducido , abortamiento (disused) |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does abortion come from?
From Latin abortiōnem (“miscarriage, abortion”), from aborior (“to miscarry”). Equivalent to abort + -ion. Displaced native Old English ǣwyrp (literally “throwing out, rejection”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).