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Abort vs Avoid - What's the difference?

abort | avoid |

In transitive terms the difference between abort and avoid

is that abort is to cause a premature termination of a foetus; to bring forth offspring prematurely; to end a pregnancy before term while avoid is to keep away from; to keep clear of; to endeavor not to meet; to shun; to abstain from.

As verbs the difference between abort and avoid

is that abort is to miscarry; to bring forth offspring prematurely while avoid is to keep away from; to keep clear of; to endeavor not to meet; to shun; to abstain from.

As a noun abort

is a miscarriage; an untimely birth; an abortion.

abort

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl), from (etyl) abortus, perfect active participle of .

Noun

(en noun)
  • (obsolete) A miscarriage; an untimely birth; an abortion.
  • *, I.2.4.vi:
  • In Japonia 'tis a common thing to stifle their children if they be poor, or to make an abort , which Aristotle commends.
  • (military, aeronautics) An early termination of a mission, action, or procedure in relation to missiles or spacecraft; the craft making such a mission.
  • We've had aborts on three of our last seven launches.
  • (computing) The function used to abort a process.
  • (computing) An event involving the abort of a process.
  • We've had three aborts over the last two days.

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) abortare, from abortus, from .

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To miscarry; to bring forth offspring prematurely.
  • To end prematurely; to stop in the preliminary stages; to turn back.
  • To stop or fail at something in the preliminary stages.
  • (biology) To become checked in normal development, so as either to remain rudimentary or shrink away wholly; to cease organic growth before maturation; to become sterile.
  • (biology) To cause an organism to develop minimally; to cause rudimentary development to happen; to prevent maturation.
  • (military) To fail or abandon a mission for any reason other than enemy action, at any point after the beginning of the mission and prior to its completion.
  • (aeronautics) To terminate a mission involving a missile or rocket; to destroy a missile or rocket prematurely.
  • To cause a premature termination of a foetus; to bring forth offspring prematurely; to end a pregnancy before term.
  • (computing) To terminate a process prior to completion.
  • Derived terms
    * abortable * abortee * aborter * abortifacient * abortion * abortive * abortment * abortorium * abortus
    See also
    * abend * exception

    References

    * * JP 1-02 Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms *

    Anagrams

    * English ergative verbs ----

    avoid

    English

    Verb

  • To keep away from; to keep clear of; to endeavor not to meet; to shun; to abstain from.
  • :I try to avoid the company of gamblers.
  • *1526 , Bible , tr. William Tyndale, Matthew 4:
  • *:The devyllsayde unto hym: all these will I geve the, iff thou wilt faull doune and worship me. Then sayde Jesus unto hym. Avoyde Satan.
  • *Milton
  • *:What need a man forestall his date of grief, / And run to meet what he would most avoid ?
  • *Macaulay
  • *:He carefully avoided every act which could goad them into open hostility.
  • *{{quote-news, year=2012, date=June 19, author=Phil McNulty, work=BBC Sport
  • , title= England 1-0 Ukraine , passage=England could have met world and European champions Spain but that eventuality was avoided by Sweden's 2-0 win against France, and Rooney's first goal in a major tournament since scoring twice in the 4-2 victory over Croatia in Lisbon at Euro 2004.}}
  • (obsolete) To make empty; to clear.
  • :(Wyclif)
  • To make void, to annul; to refute (especially a contract).
  • *Spenser
  • *:How can these grants of the king's be avoided ?
  • (legal) To defeat or evade; to invalidate. Thus, in a replication, the plaintiff may deny the defendant's plea, or confess it, and avoid it by stating new matter.
  • :(Blackstone)
  • (obsolete) To emit or throw out; to void; as, to avoid excretions.
  • :(Sir Thomas Browne)
  • (obsolete) To leave, evacuate; to leave as empty, to withdraw or come away from.
  • *:
  • *:Anone they encountred to gyders / and he with the reed shelde smote hym soo hard that he bare hym ouer to the erthe / There with anone came another Knyght of the castel / and he was smyten so sore that he auoyded his fadel
  • *Francis Bacon
  • *:Six of us only stayed, and the rest avoided the room.
  • (obsolete) To get rid of.
  • :(Shakespeare)
  • (obsolete) To retire; to withdraw, depart, go away.
  • (obsolete) To become void or vacant.
  • Usage notes

    * This is a catenative verb that takes the gerund (-ing) . See

    Derived terms

    * avoid like the plague