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Meaning & use

aborted

adjective, verb·Advanced

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UK/əˈbɔːtɪd/
US/əˈbɔːrtɪd/

“aborted” is a form of “abort”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.

Meanings

  1. adjectivebefore a noun

    Stopped or cancelled before it was finished, usually because something went wrong or it became unsafe.

    Grammar: Comes before a noun: an aborted launch, not 'the launch was aborted' in this adjective use.

    Patterns

    • an aborted something

    The aborted launch cost the company millions of dollars.

    After an aborted attempt to climb the peak, the team went back to camp.

    She still talks about her aborted career as a dancer.

  2. verbtransitivetechnical

    Past tense and past participle of abort: ended a plan, process or mission early, or ended a pregnancy by a medical procedure.

    Grammar: Takes an object: they aborted the mission.

    Patterns

    • abort something

    The pilot aborted the landing because of crosswinds.

    The program aborted itself when it ran out of memory.

    The council aborted the plan after protests.

Word forms

base formabort
-ing formaborting

Common combinations

aborted attempt
His aborted attempt to quit smoking lasted only two days.
aborted mission
The aborted mission left the crew safe but frustrated.
aborted launch
An aborted launch delayed the satellite by a week.
aborted takeoff
The aborted takeoff scared several passengers.
aborted plan
The aborted plan wasted months of work.

Synonyms and how they differ

cancelled
Cancelled is broader and can apply to events planned long ago, while aborted suggests stopping something already under way.
scrapped
Scrapped is informal and suggests the idea was thrown away completely.
abandoned
Abandoned means given up and left behind, often because of difficulty rather than a sudden safety stop.
failed
Failed says the result was not achieved, but not that someone deliberately stopped it.

Opposites

completedsuccessful

Word family

abort verb
to end something early
abortion noun
the act of ending something early, especially a pregnancy
abortive adjective
failing to achieve the intended result
abortively adverb
in a way that fails to succeed

Commonly confused: aborted or adverted?

aborted vs adverted

Adverted is a rare word meaning referred to something; it only looks similar and is not related in meaning.

Practice

The rocket engines failed, so the team ___ the launch.

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