abortive

/əˈbɔɹ.tɪv/

//əˈbɔɹ.tɪv// adj

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

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

The verdict

“abortive” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #43,014. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#43,014
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Produced by abortion; born prematurely and therefore unnatural.

Corpus desk

Index EN-abortive · abortive · English

abortive · rank #43,014 · 11 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #43,014
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH ably

Nearest frequency peer: ably (-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 “abortive”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “abortive” 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).

abortive vs adoptive
75% similar
abortive vs abortion
75% similar

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

Key facts for abortive
PropertyValue
Headwordabortive
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/əˈbɔɹ.tɪv/
Letters8
Frequency rank#43,014
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “abortive”

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).abortivelands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “ably” (#43,013), “abductions” (#43,012), “aikido” (#43,018). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “abortive” is #43,014. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around abortive (IPA /əˈbɔɹ.tɪv/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #43,014 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for abortive, with forms such as "abbortive", "aboritve", and "aborrtive". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "adoptive", "abortion", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: First attested in 1382, with the meaning "causing stillbirth or miscarriage". From Middle English abortif, from Old French abortif, from Latin abortīvus (“causing abortion”), from aborior (“miscarry, disappear”), from ab (“amiss”) + orior (“appear, be born,… The correct English form is abortive, spelled A-B-O-R-T-I-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Produced by abortion; born prematurely and therefore unnatural.
  2. 2
    Coming to nothing; failing in its effect. .
  3. 3
    Imperfectly formed or developed; rudimentary; sterile.
  4. 4
    Causing abortion; abortifacient.
  5. 5
    Cutting short; acting to halt or slow the progress (of a disease).
  6. 6
    Having a short and mild progression, without pronounced symptoms.
  7. 7
    Made from the skin of a still-born animal.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. an abortive child
  2. Thou elvish-marked, abortive, rooting hog!

Etymology

First attested in 1382, with the meaning "causing stillbirth or miscarriage". From Middle English abortif, from Old French abortif, from Latin abortīvus (“causing abortion”), from aborior (“miscarry, disappear”), from ab (“amiss”) + orior (“appear, be born, arise”).

This word in other languages

abortivo(Español)abortif(Français)abgetrieben(Deutsch)abortivo(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • abbortive
  • aboritve
  • aborrtive
  • abortiev
  • abortivve
  • aborttive
  • abortvie
  • abotrive
  • abrotive
  • aobrtive
  • baortive

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of abortive - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

abbortive1aboritve2aborrtive1abortiev2abortivve1aborttive1abortvie2abotrive2
Edit distance from "abortive"

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 "abortive"?
"abortive" is spelled A-B-O-R-T-I-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈbɔɹ.tɪv/.
What does "abortive" mean?
As an adjective, "abortive" means: Produced by abortion; born prematurely and therefore unnatural.
What words are commonly confused with "abortive"?
"abortive" is commonly confused with "adoptive", "abortion". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "abortive"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "abortive" is /əˈbɔɹ.tɪv/. 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 "abortive"?
First attested in 1382, with the meaning "causing stillbirth or miscarriage". From Middle English abortif, from Old French abortif, from Latin abortīvus (“causing abortion”), from aborior (“miscarry, disappear”), from ab (“amiss”) + orior (“appear... 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 "abortive", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

yearling#43,002apostate#43,030artfully#43,035uplifted#42,976

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

Zimmermann11 variantsarchway11 variantsWinnebago11 variantsBentham11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list