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abortion
abortion definition
abor·tion (ə bôr′s̸hən)
noun
- any spontaneous expulsion of an embryo or a fetus before it is sufficiently developed to survive; miscarriage
- any deliberate procedure that removes, or induces the expulsion of, a living or dead embryo or fetus
- an aborted embryo or fetus
- anything immature and incomplete or unsuccessful, as a deformed creature, a badly developed plan, etc.
- Biol.
- arrest of development
- an organ whose development has been arrested
Etymology: L abortio: see abort
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