Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In an abortive or untimely manner; prematurely; imperfectly; ineffectually; as an abortion.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adverb In an abortive or untimely manner; immaturely; fruitlessly.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adverb in an unfruitful manner

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

abortive +‎ -ly

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Examples

  • While we might take solace in our own anthropic prejudice, dismissing the nonsensical communiqués of such chatbots as nothing more than computerized gobbledygook, we might unwittingly miss a chance to study firsthand the babytalk of an embryonic sentience, struggling abortively to awaken from its own phylum of oblivion.

    Poetic Machines 05 : Christian Bök : Harriet the Blog : The Poetry Foundation 2007

  • Recently signing to star in the abortively named Due Date alongside saving-grace Robert Downey Jr., Galifianakis is currently in talks for Funny Story from Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck.

    Casting: Zach Galifianakis in It’s Kind of a Funny Story; Nicolas Cage Explains (Disses?) The Green Hornet | /Film 2009

  • Apparently on behest of Washington in July 2008 Zardari government abortively tried to put the powerful military-run spy agency, Inter Services

    Capitulating Terms of the $4.5 Billion US aid to Pakistan 2009

  • As we talked — about September 11, the war in Iraq, her time in the Senate, and (briefly, abortively) her husband — she showed little trace of the coldness that has long been ascribed to her.

    Take Two: Hillary's Choice 2006

  • As we talked — about September 11, the war in Iraq, her time in the Senate, and (briefly, abortively) her husband — she showed little trace of the coldness that has long been ascribed to her.

    Take Two: Hillary's Choice 2006

  • You mention in the piece that you spoke (“briefly, abortively”) about Bill.

    Candidate Hillary 2006

  • As we talked — about September 11, the war in Iraq, her time in the Senate, and (briefly, abortively) her husband — she showed little trace of the coldness that has long been ascribed to her.

    Take Two: Hillary's Choice 2006

  • You mention in the piece that you spoke (“briefly, abortively”) about Bill.

    Candidate Hillary 2006

  • "I think you'll find that Eggy -- Mr. Edgworth -- was helping with inquiries, albeit abortively, all of Sunday and Sunday night."

    Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine 2005

  • It was a little trickier to find her most recent online purchases-Selena abortively tried Amazon. com and Reel. com before finding a CD store with an account set up in Gilly's name.

    Salem Falls Picoult, Jodi, 1966- 2001

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