as in to cancel
to put an end to (something planned or previously agreed to)
had to abort the mission to Mars when they lost contact with the satellite
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Recent Examples of abort
They were assigned female at birth and never want to abort a pregnancy – making fallopian tube removal a viable option to protect themself and their husband given their dissatisfaction with other birth control methods.
—
David Oliver, USA Today, 10 July 2025
Military crews aborted several attempts to launch the missile from Cape Canaveral in 2023 due to a problem with the weapon's launcher.
—Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 26 Apr. 2025
Ultramarathon swimmer Katie Pumphrey aborted her 24-mile swim from Sandy Point State Park to the Baltimore harbor because of high winds Tuesday.
—Todd Karpovich, Baltimore Sun, 20 May 2025
The Gulf’s swelling economic and diplomatic clout has corresponded with interests replacing ideology as the chief driver of foreign policy, as illustrated by the remarkable (though ultimately aborted) negotiations toward the normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for abort
David Oliver, USA Today, 10 July 2025
Military crews aborted several attempts to launch the missile from Cape Canaveral in 2023 due to a problem with the weapon's launcher.
—Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 26 Apr. 2025
Ultramarathon swimmer Katie Pumphrey aborted her 24-mile swim from Sandy Point State Park to the Baltimore harbor because of high winds Tuesday.
—Todd Karpovich, Baltimore Sun, 20 May 2025
The Gulf’s swelling economic and diplomatic clout has corresponded with interests replacing ideology as the chief driver of foreign policy, as illustrated by the remarkable (though ultimately aborted) negotiations toward the normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for abort
Recent Examples of Synonyms for abort
Verb
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Years later, her character was set to lead a separate reboot for Peacock, but the project was canceled in 2021.—
Danny Horn,
EW.com,
19 July 2025
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Was the show canceled because late night TV is a relic of the past?—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
19 July 2025
Verb
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Nothing in the proposal Trump announced on Monday is likely to force Putin to abandon that objective.—
Simon Shuster,
Time,
15 July 2025
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That doesn't mean abandoning your message, just finding the right entry point for your audience in that moment.—
Rachel Weissman,
Forbes.com,
15 July 2025
Verb
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Ogles’ comments come as the Trump Administration has signed executive orders in an attempt to eliminate DEI programs, in addition to revoking the student visas of international students at universities throughout the country.—
Ruben Montoya,
The Tennessean,
19 July 2025
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The call for ideas also follows the department’s decision just one day earlier to revoke $4 billion in funding from California’s high-speed rail project.—
Samantha-Jo Roth,
The Washington Examiner,
17 July 2025
Verb
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Now the Trump administration has scrapped that process, and appointees enjoy full control over what scientific integrity means and how agencies review and synthesize scientific literature necessary to support and shape policy decisions.—
David Michaels,
The Atlantic,
20 July 2025
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A couple of days ago, SPORT then reported that the club was ‘close’ to scrapping the plan and explained that a decision would be made on Friday, which has proven to be accurate.—
Tom Sanderson,
Forbes.com,
18 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Abort.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/abort. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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